Digimon Frontier 718
by Noisulli
Summary: Lucemon's ideal world has been made, and the Digidestine are stuck trying to change it back to the way it was. Ten new enemies show their faces holding their alliance only to Lord Lucemon. Will the Digidestine be able to stop them? Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, yes, I've rewritten this fanfic of mine. It's slightly better in that I've added some more details and fixed some of the grammatical errors. Who's to say that there may still be some? I'm sorry if you were hoping for a sixth chapter but I thought that starting over after so many years was better than taking a stab at the old version. The old version is still there if you want to check it out but hopefully I'll be inclined to truly work on this new version. I hope you like what little I've added. Please Read and Review.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from the actual shows except for the ones that you have no clue about.

Chapter 1

A small breeze ran across the data filled grass. The wind brushed against the group of kids lying on the ground completely exhausted from their recent escape. One fidgeted on the ground as his eyes opened to the new day. Koichi slowly sat up and looked around at what was left of the Digital World. He looked to the boy nearby and smiled at the sight of his twin brother. He stared at the trees and noticed that slowly they were beginning to change for the worse. It was no longer the once happy place that they had once strived to save.

All of the areas the Royal Knights had taken the data from had returned to its original state after Lucemon created his ideal world. The outer shell of the world looked peaceful and calm but that only hid the fact that its new ruler forced his control on all of his subjects. The Digimon that followed him loyally were given the chance to enslave the innocent and peaceful friends the children had once made. The only thing the children were able to do was to keep the evil ruler from seizing control of their own world. This left them with no energy left to destroy him. The hardship of failing everyone hit them the hardest.

Bokomon stirred awake and quickly took notice upon Koichi. A bit of sadness filled his face remembering the truth the other had learned. The truth being that Koichi was only a ghost within the Digital World. This fact made known by the late Crusadermon.

One by one the group of nine awoke to the new day. Tommy, the last to awake, was awoken by J.P. through many shakes of the shoulder. Takuya let out a great big yawn as he rose to his feet. He raised his arms into the air stretching them as far out as he could.

Koji looked to his brother and gave him a smile to cheer him up. "What's wrong, Koichi? Is something bothering you?"

Koichi stared at his brother and slowly looked away. "I'm fine. There's nothing for you to worry about. I'm just wondering how we can save this world."

"So how do we do it? We've tried our hardest to defeat Lucemon and we failed. He's made his wish come true by making the Digital World the way it is now," J.P. argued as he took a bite out of a chocolate bar.

"What can we do now?" Takuya said as he stared at the ground. He tightened his fists as his body tensed up. "We can't give up now after all the things we've gone through. We've been through so much, and we can't just throw in the towel after what has happened between Lucemon and us. We will find a way to beat him. I just know it. We've always found a way to win in the past."

"He's right! If we stick together, we will find a way!" Zoe spoke up.

The group of nine raised their hands in the air and cheered for a future victory in their favor. Koichi slowly put his hand to his side. {I hope we can win…}

* * *

Lucemon gave a faint smile as he sat in what appeared to be his throne. The scenery behind him was pitch black with stone debris floating around. He looked down the stairs that led up to where he sat in his thrown to the ten figures that knelt down each on one knee.

"You know what I want. You know what you have to do," Lucemon said as his hand pointed at two of the ten. "You two."

The two stood to their feet and gave a bow. One of them disappeared and the other waited for a moment as Lucemon spoke, "It's good of you to wait for me to give you a purpose in this task. Bring me the one who holds the light spirit and then do what your spirit form is best meant for."

The silhouette of the figure gave another bow and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Takuya led the way as the group walked through the Forest Terminal. The area was completely quiet besides the usual shuffle of the leaves due to wind. It was empty even though it was just the start of a new day.

Koichi and Koji walked together at the back of the group. The silence between the two was getting at Koji. He looked to his brother and forced on a smile. "I'm glad that we met each other here. I would have gone on living without knowing that our mom was still alive. I'm glad you're my brother Koichi."

Koichi stared at his brother and gave him a faint smile. {How can I tell him…..How can I tell him that I'm not really here like he and everyone else are?} His attention went to the others as noticed the distance they were making from the group.

"Come on, Koji, let's catch up to the others," Koichi smiled as he began to run toward them. His eyes showed his sadness while his mouth plastered on that forced smile. "We don't want to get separ-"

He stopped suddenly just barely missing the spear that was thrown into ground before him. His eyes grew wide as his body lost its body and fell to the ground. His eyes darted across the area trying to find the source of where the spear appeared.

Koji hectically ran over to his brother's side. "Koichi!"

The others looked back in utter surprise. They were about to start running toward the two when the spear disintegrated the ground between the them. The small quake caused everyone to lose balance and fall to the ground.

Laughter filled the area as both Koji and Kouichi caught sight of a dark figure floating in the sky. The dark figure descended to the ground beside the two and retrieved his spear which had managed to stay standing through the small quake. His armor was pitch black and seemed to fight back against the day. The helmet resembled that of Lobomon's in that it shielded the eyes but left the area for the mouth open.

"Who are you?" Koji questioned. He staggered to his feet as he pulled his brother up with him.

The dark figure ignored Koji as if he had never said anything. His attention focused on Takuya and the others who managed to stagger to their feet. He gave a big smirk as he held out his arm and aimed his spear toward them. "Experience the wrath of Lord Lucemon!"

Streams of black light escaped from the tip of the spear and quickly headed straight for the group. The streams of black light wrapped themselves tightly around the kids and made sure to keep them from moving around.

"Ah! I can't get free!" Takuya argued as he twisted his wrists against the black light that was just as strong as any rope. "Grr!!"

Koji and Koichi just stood there watching. Anger filled their faces as they looked to each other and nodded.

"Spirit Evolution!" Koichi yelled. The data formed around his body as armor was formed. He soon landed to his feet and yelled, "Lowemon!"

"Fusion Evolution!" Koji yelled as both the human spirit and the beast spirit fused around him to form, "Beowolfmon!"

The two pulled out their weapons and stood their ground ready to attack. The dark figure just smiled at them as he aimed his spear toward them. The end of the spear began to spark but quickly ceased once a second figure appeared.

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to show up. Did Lord Lucemon say anything to you?" the dark figure asked with his spear still aimed at the twins.

The second figure's armor greatly contrasted with the others in that it was as white as snow. His helmet was also different in that it resembled Lowemon's. The helmet shielded his mouth but allowed his emotionless eyes to be clearly seen by all. On the outer side of both of his legs, two hilts were openly shown. The armor surrounding his left shoulder was thicker and larger then the right shoulder. His gaze turned to the two twins with cold sapphire eyes and then to who appeared to be his companion.

The second figure slowly pulled out the sword by his right leg. ".........light..."

The dark figure gave a small laugh and said, "So, I guess I'm just the distraction? Fine by me. Aahh!!"

The dark figure ran straight towards Koichi and slammed his spear against the side of the other's body causing him to hit the ground. He spun his spear around and began to stab at the ground where he had forced Koichi to lay and missed numerous times. Koichi struggled to dodge the oncoming attacks by blocking as many as he could with his own spear. He let out a small cry of pain as he felt his shoulder nipped. {Damn it….I have to fight back!!}

"Koichi!!" Koji yelled as he ran in the direction of his brother. He was about to reach his brother until the second figure appeared before him. He was quickly bombarded with attacks from the second figure. He tried his best to block with his saber but was stabbed many times by the enemy's sword that easily pierced though his armor.

The second figure swiftly jumped back from Koji and gently slid his sword back in the sheath on his right leg. His eyes quickly turned toward his comrade.

The dark figure laughed as he caught sight of Beowolfmon falling to the ground. His laughing grew louder as Beowolfmon returned to his human state. "Now, that was just too easy."

The second figure looked back over to Koji and began to walk over to him.

"Koji!" the restrained group yelled. They struggled more then ever to try and break the black light. Tommy and J.P. were only just some of the only ones that resorted to using their own teeth.

Koichi narrowed his eyes and jumped at the dark figure that was no longer paying any attention to him. He used every bit of strength he had left. It was enough to throw the dark figure off balance. He used this small amount of time to run to his brother and was about to pick him up when a hand appeared on his shoulder.

Koichi's eyes widened as he stared directly into the eyes of the second figure. His teeth gritted together as he felt as if his armor was being crushed beneath the second figure's hand. The hand tightened even more as he felt his body easily thrown back with so much force to break through five trees. His body lay there motionless as the pain overwhelmed him.

"Koichi!! If only I could get free from these beams!" Takuya yelled as he resorted to biting at the black light.

The second figure looked back at Koichi to make sure he no longer moved and then looked down at Koji. He knelt down and gently took Koji into his arms as he stood to his feet.

"Koichi, get up!! You have to save Koji!!" everyone yelled as they rolled around and squirmed to get over to fight even in that condition.

"He can't hear you! It's useless to waste your voices like that," the dark first figure laughed. He tightened his grip on his spear and sliced at the air. The slash it created transformed into a dark portal that seemed to lead to complete nothingness. "Let's go."

The second figure held Koji tightly in his arms as he walked through the portal.

Before the dark figure passed through it, he snapped his fingers releasing Takuya and the others from the black light. "Now, don't say I never did anything for you." He let out another laugh as he walked through the portal which disappeared behind him.

Everyone sat there stunned and quiet at the fact that they lost their friend. "That just didn't happen."

Takuya jumped to his feet and just ran to create momentum to get over the hole that the dark enemy's spear had created. He slammed against the ground and dug his feet into the ground as he ran over to Koichi who had evidently returned to his human form. He held out his hand and hesitated before he gently shook his friend up.

Koichi eyes slowly opened. They quickly widened as he remembered the fight he was just in. He forced himself to sit up and immediately felt the bruising and wounds that he had received. His eyes hectically looked around the area and noticed that the others were walking toward him. His breathing began to speed up as his body began to shake. "W-where's…..Koji?"

Takuya looked to the side. His hands clenched into fists as he whispered, "Those Digimon….They took him."

* * *

The two figures appeared in front of Lucemon from the darkness. The dark figure quickly knelt down on one knee as the other stayed standing. His emotionless eyes staring straight at the ground.

Lucemon smiled as he walked down the stairs that led up his own throne. He stopped in front of the one who stood standing and stared at Koji which he held in his arms. "So, you have succeeded in bringing me what I asked. Now do what you're best at.........Memoramon."

***END***

So, what did you think? I hoped you enjoyed it. Yes, I am evil for splitting up the twins once they have basically found each other. Please send me a review telling me what you think. Oh, and also tell me who your favorite character or characters are from any of the seasons.

--Noi


	2. Chapter 2

Here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I just hope it doesn't die any time soon after I decided to get back to working on it. Please Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from the actual shows except for the ones that you have no clue about.

Chapter 2

Cell bars lined across the cracking wall. The doors to each cell were shut tight with a small electric charge flowing around the outline of the door. Yawns and the occasional snoring came from some of the barred chambers as others remained completely quiet.

Memoramon stood opposite of one of the chambers. His cold eyes looked to Koji whom he still held in his arms. Lucemon's orders ran through his mind as he slowly closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. His cold sapphire eyes reopened and looked into the other chambers that held what could be phrased as his comrades. He turned his gaze away as he walked down the barely lit hall. The pathway completely divulged in darkness as only a speck of light at the top of the stairs could be seen. He stopped a few feet from the stairway and slowly got on one knee. His eyes stared straight at the ground.

"What is it that you want, Memoramon?" Lucemon questioned as his gaze rested on the other. He reluctantly stood to his feet and gracefully walked down his steps stopping only a foot away from his follower. He held out his hand and caught a hold of Memoramon's chin slowly pulling it up so he would look at him. "I take it you're not here just to waste my time."

"The light spirit," Memoramon spoke in barely a whisper. "Do you wish the light spirit to be completely on our side?"

Lucemon's eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke with a bored tone to his voice, "Of course. What use would he be to me if I couldn't use him?"

Memoramon slowly pulled his chin free as he stood to his feet. He gave a small bow of the head and whispered, "I'm sorry I bothered you, Lord Lucemon. I will get right on my task." With that said, he took a couple of steps back before he turned around and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

It was nightfall. The air around the group of kids grew cooler from the lack of the sun. A fire rested in the middle of the kids as they sat around it. Koichi sat distant from the others as he sat on the ground with his knees up to his chest and his back to his friends.

Zoe stared back at where Koichi sat and forced on a smile. "Koichi, why don't you come sit with us?"

Koichi shook his head 'no' not even bothering to say a word. His eyes looked to the trees and then to the darker than black shadows that danced from the flame of the fire. Tears began to stream from his eyes as he dug his face into his knees. "Koji, I'm so sorry……I failed you."

* * *

The dark figured Digimon stood in a desolate area filled with debris that looked as if it came from a fallen castle that was torn to bits. He leaned his back against on of the ruined walls and let out a small yawn. He quickly tightened his hands into fists and smashed half of the wall he leaned upon to pieces. A small laugh escaped from his mouth as he slowly turned to the new armored Digimon that had appeared. "What do you want?"

"Nightmaramon, Lord Lucemon would like a word with you," the new armored Digimon bluntly said. His armor was a dark shade of red and the sword that was sheathed on his back looked as if it had blood stains. He rolled his light blue eyes and muttered, "You better get going before he gets impatient with you."

Nightmaramon looked to the Digimon and forced on a smirk. "Who's to say that you only just now thought of giving me this information? Has he been waiting long? I'll just tell him that you were the one to truly waste his time."

The red armored Digimon let out a slight growl as he stomped away. Nightmaramon stretched his arms up into the air and started walking. "Let's go see what he wants me to do now."

* * *

Koji's eyes slowly peered opened as he found him face to face with another boy. Koji quickly sat up and looked around too find that he and the other boy that looked a couple of years older than him in nothing but complete darkness. He rubbed at his eyes hoping that it was his own eyes that were fooling him. He looked down at the sleeping teen and shook his shoulder. "Hey, wake up. You were captured by those two Digimon, weren't you? We have to get out of here."

The older teen slowly opened his sapphire eyes. His eyes hesitated before they turned toward Koji. They quickly widened as he sat up to be level with Koji's gaze. "You're…awake."

"Where are we? Where did they bring us?" Koji asked as he stood to his feet. He looked around looking for any sign of light. "There's……There's nothing but darkness…"

The older teen staggered to his feet and let out a sigh as he brushed his clothes free from any dirt out of habit. His face grew angered as he narrowed his eyes in Koji's direction. "It's not often that someone wakes up while I'm performing my mission."

"W-what are you talking about?" Koji asked as he looked back at the other. He slowly took a step back as he noticed the anger on the other's face.

The older teen walked over to Koji and stopped leaning into the other's face. His cold eyes stared into the other's eyes as he whispered, "You don't remember me, do you?"

"I don't remember ever meeting you," Koji replied as he leaned away from the older boy.

"Maybe this form will help jog your memory." The older boy took a couple of steps back and in a split second, transformed into Memoramon.

Koji's eyes grew wide as they hectically looked around for help. He stuck his hand in his pocket trying to feel for the digivice to learn that it was not there. He quickly turned around and began running further into the darkness. {There….there has to be a way out of this place!} He was suddenly jerked to a stop and felt a hand holding firming on to his upper arm. "Let go! Let go of me!!" He tried pulling his arm free with all of his might.

"Where do you think you are?" Memoramon questioned as he released Koji's arm.

Koji tugged away at the exact moment his arm was released and slammed against the ground. His breathing sped up as he stared up at the armored Digimon.

"You can not leave this place until I am done with you. For, you see, your mind is not something that you can just expect to escape from anymore without my permission."

"M-my mind?" Koji's face grew confused as he stared at the darkness long enough to start making out vague memories. "What are you going to do to me?"

Memoramon leaned down and pulled Koji to his feet by the collar of his shirt. His cold eyes stared deep into the other's and slowly seemed to look as if they were sad. "My mission….is not something that you will remember for very long…."

Koji's eyes grew wide as the armored Digimon grasped a hold on his head with his left hand. A stinging and high pitched sound began to ring in Koji's ears growing louder with each second. He slammed his hands against Memoramon's arm and did everything that he could possibly do to get free. "Let me….AHH!!!" Pain ran through his entire body and slowly over time his body began to stop fighting against the other. His fists weakly beat against the Digimon's armor and after a little more time, both of his arms fell to his side lifeless.

Familiar voices of the other Digidestined kids occupied the darkness as they laughed and spoke to Koji in past conversations. Slowly the voices disappeared one by one until Koichi's voice was the last. "Koji…we're brothers…"

"K-Koi-" Koji tried to force out of his mouth.

"Memories…." Memoramon whispered as he heard the darkness finally grow silent. "…..Deleted….."

* * *

Koichi's eyes flashed open as he quickly sat up. He looked around at the others to find that they were all still soundly asleep. He noticed his body was shaking and tried to calm himself down by slowly down his breathing. His eyes stared up at the night sky as the darkness seemed to cheer him up a bit.

He stared back down at his hands which continued to shake. {Why am I shaking like this? Did something….happen to you, Koji?}

* * *

Nightmaramon appeared from the darkness on one knee just a couple of feet away from the stairway that led up to Lucemon. He confidently looked up at his master and smirked, "I apologize for my lateness. I heard from Bravermon that you wished to see me, Lord Lucemon."

Lucemon's narrow eyes fixated on Nightmaramon. "I want you to protect Memoramon while he is in his weakened state after dealing with the spirit of light. If you fail in any way, I will personally scan your data."

Nightmaramon bit at his bottom lip. He slowly looked at the ground as his stood to his feet. "I understand, My Lord." He took a step back and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

The older teen sat against what was left of the ruined wall that was destroyed even more by Nightmaramon. His head hung down and his body was completely passed out. His arms seemed to manage holding on tightly to the equally passed out Koji.

Nightmaramon walked up to the two and knelt down being more at level with them. He looked at Koji and gave a small smile. "You two hold my fate in your hands." He looked to the older teen and smirked, "Just don't let me down, Kyon."

***END***

Wow, I really didn't think that I would be able to rewrite this chapter so soon. I just really felt like working on it. My favorite characters are Koichi, Matt, T.K., Ken, and Henry. My favorite Digimon are Stingmon, Loweemon, Lobomon, and Beelzemon. I hope to hear what your favorites are.

--Noi


	3. Chapter 3

Here is the next chapter. I am beginning to veer off the path of my old fanfic. I hope no one minds. I thought the old story went just a little too fast so I'm slowing things down a bit and showing more behind the personalities of my own characters.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from the show but I do own the ones you've never in your life heard of.

Chapter 3

The sun slowly crept up through the darkness as it streamed into Lucemon's castle through the many ruined cracks. The cracks seemed to make a slight maze for the light as it followed it all the way down to the dungeon where one wall was completely line with bars. The light peered in to one of the cell chambers and caused its occupant to stir awake.

The older boy's eyes opened to reveal the emerald color they held. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes letting the usual yawn escape his mouth. He looked around the cell and narrowed his eyes. "I guess I shouldn't have expected that I wouldn't wake up to this again.

He rolled off the bad excuse of a bed and straightened his red T-shirt fighting against the wrinkles. He shook his right leg and then his left trying to stretch them out as he uncoiled them his blue jean pants. He walked over to the bars and stared at the small electric charge that followed the outline of the cell door. He took the bars into his hands and tug at them. "Guess these didn't weaken from yesterday…."

He let out another yawn which he quickly stopped when the torches on the wall opposite his cell suddenly lit. He ran his hand through his short black hair that found it convenient to cover his left eye. He looked over to the side of his bed and snatched the goggles that lay beside his makeshift pillow. He pulled his goggles over his head and let them hang around his neck. He stuck his arms out through the bars and began clapping his hands. "Hey! Wake up, everybody!!!"

"Shut up!"

"Let us sleep!"

"Stop being such an ass, Taki!!"

Taki narrowed his eyes at the few remarks. "Hmph! Fine, be that way!! See if I wake you up again when something important happens!!"

"Be quiet, Taki!"

"Your voice is annoying!!"

Taki let out a growl and quickly stopped when he spotted a Phantomon slowly glide pass the cell. His nose picked up the scent of the mouthwatering food that the Digimon held on a tray and his stomach growled in reaction to it. He stuck his arms as far out as he could as he tried reaching for the tray. "Hey, when are you going to give me some good food like that!? The crap you usually feed me is awful!"

The Phantomon ignored Taki as it continued to glide on its way. Its scythe which it held over its left shoulder glittered to the torches that lit as it passed them by.

Taki growled and slammed his hand against the bars. He was about to yell when he heard footsteps approach the cell. He looked at the cloaked Digimon and then to the tray it held. The food resting on the tray looked much worse than the first tray. He rolled his eyes completely annoyed.

"Here you go," the Wizardmon spoke as it knelt down and slid the tray under a small opening under the cell door. "Just push the tray back under the door once your done."

Taki gritted his teeth together as he kept himself from kicking the tray. "You call this food!? What the hell was up with the tray of food that the Phantomon was carrying? I want that! I don't want this! It's not fair!!!"

"That tray of food was requested by the master to take to his new follower and the two who retrieved him. I'm sorry that the master does not seem to favor you," the Wizardmon answered as it looked straight into Taki's eyes. "Now, eat what you want. It's not good to waste the food given to you."

Taki clenched his hands into fists as he watched the Digimon walk away. He slowly took a deep breath as he yelled at the top of his lungs, "KYON!!!!"

"Oh, not again!"

"You selfish brat, shut the hell up!!"

* * *

Koichi slowly opened his eyes. He jumped at the sight of Tommy standing over him. "W-what is it?"

Tommy forced on a smile. "Don't worry about Koji. We'll get him back."

Koichi slowly sat up and forced on a smile of his own for the other. His eyes looked around noticing that the other's were already awake and that he was the last to get up. "Thank you, Tommy."

Tommy nodded his head and ran off to where J.P. stood. Kochi stared at the ground and tried to keep himself together.

Takuya circled around the area they occupied for the moment while Zoe stood leaning against a tree. Takuya stopped in his tracks and whispered, "What would Lucemon want with Koji? And who were those two Digimon? Ahh! This is all my fault! I was careless enough to get caught off guard and unable to help you, Koichi."

"Takuya, it wasn't just you. We were all caught in that Digimon's attack," Zoe whispered. "What we need to do is find out where they might be holding Koji and save him."

"Yeah, that's the first thing we have to do. But where do we start?" Takuya questioned as he started thinking it over. A smile appeared on his face as his clenched right hand hit his open left hand. "I got it! We have to find some of those lowly followers. They might know where Lucemon's new location is."

* * *

"Your food is here, you two!" the Phantomon called as it banged its scythe against the bar. It began to shuffle with the tray of food. "Wake up!"

The torch in front of the cell finally lit causing one of the figures in the cell to stir from his sleep. The older boy let out a yawn and looked to the Phantomon with his exhausted ruby eyes. He forced himself to roll off the bed and stagger over to the door. He rubbed at his eyes as he whispered, "What do you want?"

"Your food is here," the Phantomon replied as it put its scythe back over its shoulder and pulled out a key. It stuck the key into the door and watched as the door slowly opened. It held out the tray of food and waited a bit.

The older boy pulled up the sleeves to his black shirt and hesitated before taking the tray. He waited until the tray was on his side of the cell before freeing the Digimon of it. He took a step back and watched as the Phantomon pulled the cell door closed. "Thank you…"

"KYON!!!!" echoed down the dungeon hallway.

The older boy let out a small smirk. "Well, I guess Taki's pissed. That bastard only thinks of himself, and he calls himself a leader."

He walked over to the middle of the cell and knelt down to lay the tray of food on the floor. He sat himself down and smiled, "This looks so good." Before he grabbed a cinnamon roll, he caught sight of movement from the other bed. His eyes narrowed a bit as the new occupant of the cell sat up from the only other bed. "Good morning."

Koji looked at the older boy and let a small smile fill his face until a yawn decided to take over. He gently rolled off of the bed careful not to bother the other person on the bed. He walked over to the tray and sat down retrieving a donut. He noticed the other staring at him and asked, "What is it, Ryun?"

The older boy coughed on the food he had just stuck into his mouth and struggled to swallow it all down. "You…you know who I am?"

"Why wouldn't I know who you are, Ryun? We've known each other since we met in this Digital World. Don't tell me that you've forgotten who Kyon and I are," Koji smirked taking a bite out of his donut.

"Of course not! You just surprised me. I didn't think you were going to be up and moving around," Ryun said as he ran his hand through his white hair to try to get it out of the right side his face. "You might've gotten amnesia from that slam to your head for all I know."

"Yeah, I see what you're getting at," Koji whispered as he looked back at the boy still laying down on the bed. He rubbed the side of his head with his free hand and cringed a bit from the bruise he figured was already there. "He did a lot yesterday. It was my fault for being careless and off guard. He used up a lot of energy just to save me from those enemies."

"Yeah," Ryun whispered wiping his hands on his pants. "I guess Kyon will be out of commission for a couple of days."

* * *

Lucemon sat on his thrown and looked down at the end of the staircase. He crossed his legs and rested his head on his left hand. His eyes stared to his right hand as he snapped his fingers together. The sound of it echoed throughout the whole castle.

* * *

Taki finished the food that was once on the tray and kicked the tray to the other side of the cell. He let out a sigh as he leaned against the bars. He looked to his hands and whispered, "Why did this have to happen to us?"

His body tensed up as the sound of Lucemon's snapped fingers echoed down the dungeon hall. He stared at the door to his cell and heard the other cell doors force open as his finally opened. He narrowed his eyes as he staggered to his feet. "What if I don't feel like going?"

Taki walked over to the cell door and hesitated before walking out of the cell. Pain quickly filled his face as he took only one step out. His body curled down as he struggled to endure the pain. Data streams formed around him as in a split moment he became the red armored Digimon. The sword present on his back seemed to be stained with the blood of the Digimon he had killed. The red armored Digimon looked to his hands and laughed, "If it wasn't for Lucemon taking these weak creatures prisoner, I would never have left that damn rock."

* * *

Ryun looked to the open cell door and slowly put down a second cinnamon roll he had just picked up. He looked to Koji and forced on a fake smile. "Well, I guess the master calls…It's not like I can't go."

"But you'll be under the control of that Digimon spirit," Koji whispered.

"Don't worry about that," Ryun smiled as he stood to his feet. He stretched out his arms and looked to the door. "Nightmaramon isn't as bad as the other spirits."

Ryun walked over to the door and hesitated before he took a step outside of the cell. He quickly gritted his teeth together as a wave of pain streamed up his body. Darkness immediately surrounded him and when it finally disappeared, Nightmaramon was what left. He looked back into the cell and held his chin up a bit. "Watch over Memoramon while I'm gone. I'm trusting you with him, okay?"

Koji nodded his head and watched as Nightmaramon walked off. The door slammed shut and the lock was heard turning. Koji looked back at the older teen laying down on the bed and whispered, "I'm sorry, Kyon. It's my fault that you're in this condition."

* * *

Takuya and the others were traveling in a straight line with Koichi being the one at the rear. Zoe sped up a bit and walked side by side by Takuya as she whispered, "We have to do something to cheer Koichi up. Just look at him. He's totally depressed."

"I know, Zoe, but what can we do?" Takuya asked as he looked back to see Koichi kicking at a rock. "Nothing we can do can make him forget about Koji. Even the thought of finding some Digimon who knows where Lucemon might be hasn't cheered him up. They've……they've finally reunited and are now just torn apart again. Some leader I am."

Koichi stopped walking as he stared up at the sky. He let out a sigh as he forced himself to look away. "What am I looking at? There's nothing up there."

* * *

Nightmaramon knelt down on one knee following suit with the eight other armored Digimon who were kneeling in front of the stairway that led up to Lucemon. He heard a small snicker come out of the red armored Digimon who knelt beside him and slowly looked at him noticing that blood was already dripping from his sword.

Lucemon slammed his foot against the ground as he stood to his feet. He smirked at the attention he quickly gained from the nine armored Digimon. His eyes narrowed slightly as he began to walk down the stairs. "Where is Memoramon?"

Nightmaramon clenched his hands together and looked up to reply clearly. "My Lord, forgive me for saying that Memoramon and the human he possesses are in no condition to leave the cell. Since you left him in my care while he can not fight, I thought-"

"You THOUGHT!?" Lucemon yelled as he stopped right in front of Nightmaramon. His smirk grew wider as he patted the dark Digimon on the head. "You thought right."

Nightmaramon quickly stared down at the ground. His body was shaking a bit as he heard another small snicker escape from the red armored Digimon.

"I take it you're excuse for the Light Spirit not being here is the same?" Lucemon questioned as his eyes looked down at the dark Digimon.

"Y-yes, My Lord."

"Hmm, very well," Lucemon whispered. His eyes turned to stare at the red armored Digimon. "Bravermon, I leave you with my next task."

"It's about damn time," the red armored Digimon argued. He quickly got to his feet and looked Lucemon equally in the eyes. "I'm tired waiting in that stupid cell of yours and getting no missions."

Lucemon's smirk disappeared as anger filled his face from the disrespect. "I suppose being in that cell for so long has also made you forget your position."

"What? You mean compared to you? I am the rightful leader of the others and the only thing you've done to gain our respect is trap these useless humans. Other than that, how do we know just how strong you really-" Bravermon's eyes grew wide as Lucemon slammed his fist into the side of his face. He stumbled back and tripped on one of the other armored Digimon who quickly pushed him away. He slammed against the ground and just laid there as he saw Lucemon looking down on him.

"You are weak compared to me and I doubt the others would ever look up to a wretched and stubborn leader as you," Lucemon growled. He turned his back to the red Digimon and started making his way up the stairs. He stopped halfway and muttered, "As for your mission, I want you to go man one of the labor camps. Learn what you could have been doing under my rule."

Bravermon gritted his teeth together and slammed his fist against the ground. He staggered to his and slammed his arm against the armored Digimon who had pushed him away.

The green armored Digimon was ready to retaliate when he froze from doing any more by the whisper of one of the other Digimon. "You're lucky this time, Bravermon."

"Shut up!" Bravermon argued as he staggered off into the darkness.

"Now, Nightmaramon, I want you to take whomever you wish and gather more information on something that is called the Crescent Stone," Lucemon spoke gently as his eyes looked back at the dark Digimon. "Leave as soon as possible. I do not want you wandering around wasting my time."

"Yes, My Lord," Nightmaramon replied as he stood to his feet and gave a bow. He took a couple of steps back and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Takuya stopped walking and looked back at everyone. "Let's take a break."

The group let out a relieved sigh as they each sat down. Bokomon resorted to writing in his book as Kneemon played with Patamon, Salamon, and Lopmon. Laughter ensued as Kneemon tried catching the three small Digimon.

Koichi stayed standing as he looked to the trees that surrounded them. His body jumped at the faint sound of a small scream. "Did you…did you hear that?"

The kids looked around and the Digimon stopped running around to listen. The faint cry was heard once more and seemed to be much closer than before. Takuya quickly got to his feet as he put his hands to his ears to try and figure out which direction the voice came from. "I can't…"

"Help! Help!!"

Takuya's eyes widened as he took off running on his own. The cries for help grew louder with each step and his eyes searched everywhere for the source of the voice. {Where are you? Where are you?}

A silhouette jumped from behind the trees and straight into Takuya who tripped over the small creature. His face slammed into the ground and pain quickly filled his body. "O-ouch…" He picked himself up with his arms and noticed the fresh cuts that were beginning to already bleed. He looked back at where the creature rammed into him and saw that it was still there and not moving. His eyes grew wide. He forgot about his own pain as he crawled over to the small Digimon. "Hey, are you okay?"

He took the small catlike creature into his arms and gently tried shaking it awake. "Hey, wake up. Were you the one calling for help?"

"Takuya!!" the others called as they all circled around their friend.

"You don't just run off like that," Zoe argued as she refrained for hitting the boy upside the head. She looked down at the injured Digimon. "Who is that?"

"It's a Gatomon. And by the looks of it, it's been beaten rather badly," Bokomon interjected as he stared at the Digimon.

"I think this was who was calling for help," Takuya whispered as he staggered to his feet. He shifted the weight of the Gatomon in his arms and smiled. "This Gatomon might've been running from exactly what we've been looking for. If she leads us to the enemy, we might just get the information we need to find Koji."

Koichi stared at Takuya. He had still separated himself from the group but just this bit of hope brought a bit of the happiness that he was beginning to lose. A smile graced his face as tears slowly began to well up in his eyes. "I hope so. I really do hope so…"

**END**

The end of another chapter. Sorry, if it was too long. There were just a lot of things that I wanted to add in this new version. I hope you liked it. Please send a review so I know that at least one person is reading this story. The next chapter may take a while to come out, but I'll try not to make it too long of a wait.

--Noi


	4. Chapter 4

I tried my hardest to come out with the next chapter just for you!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. The only things I do own are my characters and the Digimon I happened to think up myself.

Chapter 4

Nightmaramon walked down the darkly lit hall and slowly came to a stop. "How long are you planning to follow me around? Aren't you supposed to go back to your cell?"

"Have you forgotten that you are able to take anyone you wish along with you on this mission of yours? Memoramon is out of the equation. Wouldn't it be wise to take someone like me with you?" the green armored Digimon smiled as he peered out from around the other. His teeth were sharp and his eyes were hidden behind the dark lenses of his goggles. "Having me around to gather up the potential ones you may need to question is an easy task for me."

Nightmaramon gritted his teeth together as he whispered, "It will be hard for you to not kill them. You are not even able to control your beast spirit."

"It is but a small flaw," the green armored Digimon laughed. He took a step from behind the other and walked on ahead. His hand brushed against the wall as he dug his clawed fingers into the wall easily leaving streaks. "If not me, then who else would be more useful?"

Nightmaramon avoided staring at the other. He clenched his hands together. "What would you do if I turn you down, Reapmon?"

"Oh, that hurts. You don't trust me," Reapmon laughed as he kept on walking. The sound of his nails scrapping along the wall slowly deafened as he walked far enough away.

Nightmaramon slammed his fist against the wall as he let out a small growl. "He's careless and rash. He will hold a grudge, and he only acts this way towards me."

* * *

"How is she doing?" Koichi asked. He stood a small distance away from the Digimon and was slowly starting to grow impatient.

"She should be all right. Don't worry, Koichi, she'll wake up and tell us what we're hoping for," Zoe smiled as she knelt there next to the Gatomon.

Koichi's hands slowly clenched into fists as he walked over to one of the trees. He smacked his right hand into the trunk and stared down at the grass. {How much longer do I have to wait…} His fingers started digging into the bark.

"Koichi."

Koichi slowly looked back. His eyes were slightly narrow as he stared at Takuya. He forced on a smile. "W-what is it, Takuya?"

Takuya walked over to the other and stopped a short distance away. His eyes caught sight of the other's hand digging into the bark. "Just…calm down."

"Uh…right," Koichi whispered. He pulled his hand away from the bark and let it rest by his side.

{Koichi, what's going on with you?} Takuya thought. He hesitated before he walked away.

* * *

Koji sat down on the bed and leaned over to look at Kyon. "It feels like it's been ages since we've last spoken to one another."

"That's an understatement," a cool voice muttered from the other side of the bars. A pair of green eyes stared into the cell and locked on to Koji. "What was the last thing you spoke to him about, LIGHT spirit?" His voice was harsh on the other's title.

Koji narrowed his eyes. "Shouldn't you be getting back to your cell?"

"The day that I listen to any one like you is the day that I die," the cool voice muttered. Anger had now overtook his soft voice. The green eyes looked away and faint footsteps were heard walking away.

"Man, they all seem like they're out to get me," Koji whispered as he ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry…" Kyon's voice whispered. His sapphire eyes forced themselves open and turned to look at the other. "It's my fault…I'm sorry…Koji."

"Don't speak, Kyon. You're in no condition to. Just rest. I'm sure Ryun will be coming back any second," Koji hectically said. He looked to the bars and then back to the other.

"He won't come…He's been given a mission…" Kyon whispered. His hands clenched together as pain shot through his body.

Koji leaned down closer to Kyon. "How do you know?"

"I…don't…know…" Kyon whispered. He forced his eyes closed and started to dig his fingers into his makeshift bed.

"It's okay. Just rest," Koji said forcing on a smile. He pulled the blanket over the other's shoulders and stood up from the bed. He walked over to the cell bars and stared at the lit torch that did not seem like it ever wanted to dim down into nothingness.

Laughter echoed down the hallway. A female voice was joking with another who did not seem to being laughing along with her. Quick steps were heard and a female Digimon stopped in front of the cell. Her gold eyes stared straight into Koji's. A smirk graced her face as she spun around causing a wave of wind to slam against Koji and push him to the opposite side of his cell. She burst out laughing as she ruffled her black wings. "Oh, I'm so sorry, 'Light' spirit."

Immense pain filled Koji's face as the jagged wall dug into his back. His body fell to the ground and he was slow at picking himself back up. "What was…that for?"

"Galemon, what are you doing? Your cell isn't past that cell. Stop messing around," a more serious voice complained. An outline of the figure could barely be made out as he stepped completely away from the torch's light.

The female Digimon pouted. She narrowed her eyes at Koji before she turned her gaze. "You're lucky this time. Next time he won't be around to set me straight." Her wings tensed as she stomped off in the direction she came.

"Damn…that hurt," Koji mumbled. His arms shook as he managed to sit up. His shoulders ached and pain shot through his spine whenever he moved his arms. His hand slowly dug into his pocket and pulled out his D-tector. "The others don't have one of these, do they?"

* * *

"Move your asses already!!" Bravermon yelled. He pulled out his sword and started swinging it around in a threatening manor. "I will kill you if you go any slower!!"

A line of beaten Digimon carried what seemed to be rocks and threw them onto a small mound once they were close. Their bodies looked malnourished and their eyes lost of hope. Most struggled just to keep standing.

Bravermon laughed as he walked into one of the few buildings. His eyes narrowed at the Digimon who sat. He slammed his sword into the wooden floor. "I'm in charge of this place and I tell even you what to do. If you don't follow my commands, I won't hesitate in ending your miserable lives."

The Digimon scurried out of the building while others just moved to another part of the room to give Bravermon enough space so he would not complain any further. Bravermon laughed. He walked over to the other side of the room and left a long streak mark on the wooden floor. He took a seat in what seemed to have once belonged to the previous commander of the camp. He looked around the room. "Which one of you was sitting here?"

The majority of the Digimon quickly ratted out the Ogremon in the room. His face grew with fear as he noticed the others' pointing fingers. "Uh, they're lying!!"

"Hmm, well, you are the biggest one here," Bravermon smirked. He dug his sword into the floor. "Come here."

The Ogremon narrowed his eyes at the other's and hesitantly walked over to the new leader. "What is it, My Lord?"

Bravermon popped his knuckles and stuck his feet up on the desk in front of him. "Get me something to drink…and…"

"Y-yes?" the Ogremon asked bowing down in front of the other.

"Make sure the ones who sold you out join that labor line…"

* * *

Gatomon slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Zoe and she quickly crawled away. Fear was written on her face as she noticed the other kids.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe here," Zoe tried reassuring. She held her hands before her and looked to the others for support.

"We won't hurt you. We've been treating your wounds and, uh," Takuya stared at the Digimon.

"You lie! You'll take me back to that place! I won't go!! You can't make me!" the Gatomon hissed. Her tail flared up as she struggled to stand on her feet.

"You came from one of the bases?" Koichi questioned. His eyes were wide wanting to know more. "Please, tell us where it is."

Gatomon hissed, "I won't!! You won't get anything out of me!"

Koichi's left eye twitched. His hands slowly clenched into fists. "Please, you have to lead us to it. We'll save everyone there. That's what we're supposed to do. We're the ones who have to save this world. We need to get more information about-"

"Save the world!? If so, the why did you let this happen!? You failed us all!! Why should I believe you? You're probably one of them!!" the Gatomon cried as she began taking steps back.

"One of who?" Takuya questioned.

Koichi's eyes narrowed. His teeth began to grit together as he tried holding back his anger. "Where is it? Tell me now."

"You're them! The armored Digimon who just appeared and-"

Koichi took a step toward the female Digimon. "Tell me where it is!!"

The Gatomon jumped and started running. Koichi ran at full speed after the Digimon. "Get back here!!"

"Koichi!" Takuya yelled as he ran after the two. "Stop it, Koichi!!"

The rest of the group just stood there. Zoe's eyes grew worried. "Koichi's been acting differently…"

* * *

"Stop running!! I will catch you!! I need you to tell me where the base is!!" Koichi yelled in complete anger.

Gatomon kept on running. Her injuries were beginning to take their toll as her speed slowed dramatically. She suddenly stopped and jumped at Koichi. She slammed her paws into his face and caused the other to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

Koichi grabbed at her and continued to argue. "I need you to lead me there!! I have to find my brother!!!!"

Gatomon's eyes grew wide as she stopped her attacks. Her blue eyes stared down at Koichi. "Your…brother?"

Koichi's anger quickly subsided. "Yes…they took him…those armored Digimon took him…I have to find out where he is…"

Gatomon jumped off of the other and let out a small sigh. "I'll…take you there. You'll…save everyone?"

"I promise."

"Koichi!!" Takuya yelled as he came to a stop at Koichi's side. He was out of breath. "What's…going on…with you, Koichi?"

Koichi staggered to his feet and forced on a smile. "She'll lead us there, Takuya."

"Really? Uh, wait! Don't avoid the question."

"Let's go back to the others now," Koichi said as he held his hand out to the Gatomon and started walking.

"Koichi!!" Takuya argued. He watched as the other started walking back. He just stood there. "What's going on with you Koichi? You're…you're not acting like yourself…You're acting as if you were-"

"Takuya, let's go!" Koichi called. He stared back at the goggle-wearing ally and signaled to other with his hand.

{No…you're just worried. I'd probably be acting the same if they had Shinya.} Takuya walked slowly to join up with the two. "…right?"

"Huh?"

"Uh, nothing, nothing! I'm just thinking to myself!" Takuya quickly shot. He sped up his walking speed and forced on a smile. "Come on! I'm sure the others are worried about your little outburst, Koichi."

"Uh, yeah…" Koichi pulled the Gatomon onto his back and sped up his pace. He started to struggle to keep up with Takuya. "Uh, hold up! Don't walk that fast, Takuya!"

**END**

Sorry, it wasn't as long as the others. I was trying to figure out what to do and this is what I came up with. I hope you liked it. If not, then I'm sorry. I hope to get the next chapter out either at the end of this week or sometime next week. Finals are starting up so we shall see. Send me a review!

--Noi


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter five! Sorry, I didn't come out with it sooner. I tried working on one of my original stories so my friend could read more of it as her graduation present. After that well, I got some new games and just kept delaying writing more to this. What actually motivated me to work on it was the one review I did receive. Thank you ChaosGarden!

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters but the ones you've never heard of. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

The sky slowly began to darken in color as the moon's light began to overpower the sun. The stars began to appear one by one as their numbers greatly outmatched any other. The night breeze grew cooler and brushed against the kids' makeshift fire.

"So, you'll show us where the base is in the morning?" Takuya asked again.

"Yeah, yeah, as long as you guys keep your side of the bargain," Gatomon yawned. She curled up into a ball and let her eyes close easily to sleep. Her tail fidgeted every now and then.

Tommy let out a yawn following Gatomon's and laid down on his side. His eyes stared over at Koichi who still managed to keep some distance from the others. "Koichi, come sit with us."

Koichi's eyes turned to look at Tommy. He forced on a smile and gently shook his head. "No, I'm fine over here. Get some sleep, Tommy."

Tommy let out another yawn which quickly spread to the Digimon in their group. The five Digimon huddled together and got comfortable before they fell asleep.

J.P. stared back at Koichi and then looked to the two who were still awake. He closed his eyes and sighed. "You know, Koichi, you don't have to get so distant with us. We're worried about Koji, too. That doesn't mean that we wanna lose you in the process. Come over here and sit with us. We're all friends here. We have to stick together."

Koichi looked to the side and after a moment he staggered to his feet. He walked over to the group and sat down in a free space. "Sorry, for getting a bit distant."

"I forgive you," J.P. smirked as he laid down on his back. He had his arms behind his head and stared up at the sky. "Just a little longer, Koichi. We'll save those Digimon and take on the leader of that place and make him talk."

"Yeah," Koichi whispered. He laid down on his side and forced his eyes closed. {Let's hope everything happens that way…}

* * *

"Leaving at night! You're crazy. This body isn't suited to working without sleep," Reapmon argued. His voice echoed through the stone hallway. His walking pace came to a halt. He forced out a sigh after a long period of silence and stomped his foot on the ground. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Nope," Nightmaramon shot. He stopped after a while and looked back. "This is why I didn't want to drag you along. You complain too damn much and you're not willing to work my way. It always has to be about you and your stupid human body. Stay and rest if you want but I'm going on ahead. I work better at night, if you haven't forgotten."

Reapmon growled as he just stood there. He watched as the other walked off. His teeth gritted together and his hands shook with anger. He forced out a sigh as he ran after the other. "Wait up! I don't wanna go back to that cell!!"

Nightmaramon stopped once he made it to a dead-end. He looked at his hand and shook it allowing his spear to form in his hand. He stabbed the spear into the wall and slashed down. He pulled his spear free from the wall and stared at the slash watching as it grew into a large black hole. He looked back and muttered, "No sleeping…"

"Ok, ok!" Reapmon whined waving his hands around. "So, are you gonna go or do I gotta push you?"

Nightmaramon gritted his teeth and walked through the black hole. Reapmon let out a laugh as he followed the other in.

* * *

"Lord Bravermon?" Ogremon called as he knocked on the door before entering the room. His eyes searched the room and slowly grew wide.

"What do you want? I didn't give you permission to enter?" Taki argued as he stretched out his arms and legs. He looked at his now human form and then back at the Digimon. "If you tell anyone of this, I will kill you." His eyes looked away as he stared down at the wooden floor.

"But why-"

"'But why' what!? Why am I a human? Well, this body can't function well without sleep. So…I leave you in charge until morning," Taki muttered. He stood up from the chair and walked over to the Ogremon. His eyes looked up at the Digimon. "I'm going to sleep. If you decide to stage a coup d'état, then you better do it now before morning. Otherwise, Brav- I will be sure to slaughter you all if you start late."

Taki looked away and walked passed the Digimon. He walked into another room and slammed the door shut.

* * *

The sun's ray peered down onto the group of kids. Koichi quickly stirred awake as he looked around. He looked to where Gatomon laid before and noticed that she was gone. He jumped to his feet and was about to freak out when he spotted her not too far away sitting up in a tree. He walked over to the tree and looked up. "Why are you up there?"

"I feel safer up here. You thought I ran away, didn't you?" Gatomon questioned as she stared down at the other.

"Yeah." Koichi looked back at the others who continued to sleep. "It'd be great if they woke up now. I wouldn't mind going off to fight those Digimon who are using other Digimon as slaves."

Gatomon climbed down from the branch and looked up at Koichi. "This brother of yours. Tell me what happened."

* * *

The sun began to make its way through the thick moss covering the nearby trees and the maze that was the high grass for those who were not so tall. Reapmon slowed his pace through the thick grass. His claws slashed at the grass and the numerous branches that got in his way. "The damn things just won't go away. Where are we, Nightmaramon!?"

"Hmm." That was the only sound that came out of Nightmaramon's mouth. He stopped walking and looked around the area. "No one's here. Maybe this isn't the place to start looking."

"Ya thin-AH!" Reapmon cried as he tripped in the mass of grass. He slammed against the ground and yelled out offensive words trying to fight against what was biding his legs. "AHH!!! DAMN IT ALL!!!"

Nightmaramon walked over to the side of the other and stabbed his spear into the mass of grass cutting it instantly. "If you can't win against grass, what good are you?"

Reapmon gritted his sharp teeth together as he dug his claws into the dirt. He staggered to his feet and took off walking. "We're going this way."

Nightmaramon's grip on his spear tightened as he began walking his own way. "You're going the wrong way. If you continue to go that way, you'll end up reaching water."

"What? You know, there are such things as water Digimon!" Reapmon argued as he adjusted the dark goggles on his face. "Or is it, that you can't swim?"

Nightmaramon stopped walking for a moment. "Believe what you want." He continued walking deeper into the dark musty forest.

Reapmon looked in the direction he wanted to go and then in the direction his comrade was already making great distance with. He pulled his goggles up and revealed the huge eyes beneath. He rubbed at his large yellow eyes and placed the goggles back over them. He let out a yawn and began walking in the direction of the dark Digimon.

* * *

The group of ten cautiously walked behind the Gatomon that led the way to the mentioned base. Gatomon kept her guard up even more and seemed to grow slower in her pace as the destination came closer. She finally came to a stop and looked back at the group. "We're almost there. I-I can't go back to that place."

Koichi who had kept his place at the back of the group walked to the front. He stared down at the Gatomon and forced on a smile. "Don't worry. Just leave the rest to us. Right, Takuya?"

Takuya stared at Koichi and nodded his head. His eyes caught sight of the other's clenched fists. He tightened his own hands into fists and looked back at the others. "Okay, everyone, our main objective is to find the leader and make him talk. Don't let him get away."

"You've got it," the whole group silently cheered.

Gatomon raised her paw in the direction behind her and stared at the group. "If you keep going that way, the ground should slope down revealing the base. Good luck."

Takuya nodded his head and took off running with the others just behind him. Koichi patted Gatomon on her head and took off after the rest. As soon as the ground sloped down, everyone's guard was practically on red alert. They hid behind a row of bushes at first sight of a line of Digimon. Takuya crawled under one of the bushes and stared at the numerous Digimon who were struggling just to walk. "This is horrible."

"It looks like they haven't eaten in days," Tommy whispered. His eyes grew worried as he watched the Digimon who stopped walking beaten instantly back into work.

"This has to stop now," J.P. growled. His hands tightened into fists and he looked as if he was ready to charge at any given moment.

Koichi peered through the leaves and stared at the different Digimon on guard that varied in size. His eyes narrowed as he kept looking at the bigger, more powerful guards over the little ones. "Which one is the leader?"

* * *

A door swung open as Bravermon walked out of the room. His eyes quickly locked on to Ogremon who stood there waiting for any orders. Bravermon smirked and walked out of the building. "I would've surely thought that you might try to dispose of me during the night. You're a loyal one, Ogremon."

Ogremon bowed his head and followed his master out of the building. "Would you like me to get y-" He froze from speaking any more at the sight of Bravermon holding up his hand.

The light breeze glided gently through the labor camp. Bravermon narrowed his eyes and slowly put his hand down. He stared at the line of workers that had been forced into the labor line just a few hours earlier and looked back at Ogremon. "I want you to get the workers back into their cells and inform the guards that they are not to let anyone get in or out of there. I leave you in charge of them. I think it only fitting that I be the one to greet our new guests."

Ogremon gave a little bow and ran off yelling his given orders to the Digimon guards that quickly began rounding up the workers. "Get a move on it already!"

Bravermon let out a small laugh as he reached back and grabbed a hold of the hilt of his sword. He swung his sword forward hastily causing the blood on it to spill across the ground. He turned his head toward the row of bushes and smiled. "You know, you can come out now! It's not like I don't already know you're here!"

The bushes rustled a bit as Koichi ran out revealing himself to the enemy. Anger completely covered his face. "That's the leader!"

"Koichi!" Takuya yelled as he tried to reach for his friend. He ended up showing himself too and stopped a few feet from the bushes.

"You know where my brother is, don't you!? Two armored Digimon like you took him away! Now, tell me where they've taken him!" Koichi yelled as he came to a stop a few feet from the enemy. His body tensed up that he looked as if he was about to charge.

Bravermon stared at Koichi for a second a bit confuse and then burst out laughing. He swung his sword over his shoulder and stopped his own laughter. He began to grit his own teeth together. "And here I thought I was going to get a challenge over something I've done. But no, it has to be over the two I despise the most. So, is this brother of yours the 'Light' spirit everyone keeps on talking about?"

Koichi's eyes grew wide for a moment. They quickly narrowed as he yelled, "Tell me where he is!"

"Why should I?" Bravermon questioned. He lifted his sword and swung it in Koichi's direction. His sword did not quite make it to the other only stopping just a few inches away from the boy. "What a shame? I was hoping for a quick kill."

Koichi's eyes looked at the sword just before him. He slowly took a few steps back and focused his attention back on the Digimon before him. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out his D-tector. "You won't get rid of me that easily. Spirit Evolution!!"

Data quickly encircled him as dark armor began to form. His spear appeared in his hand as he spun it around. "Lowemon!"

Bravermon growled. "So you're a part of them! You're a part of those damn Legendary Warriors!!"

**END**

And there goes another chapter. I hope it was not too bad. I do not know when the next one will be out, but I'll get to working on it when I can. Please leave me a review telling me what you think. Oh, do any of you have a favorite bad guy? For some reason, Puppetmon was one of my favorites.

-Noi


	6. Chapter 6

It's Chapter 6! Good thing I didn't vanish for a couple of years before I put this up. Sorry about that. But here it is! Thank you so much for the reviews, ChaosGarden and May Kat! They make me happy. Enjoy the read! (I hope it's not too long…)

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. Just my own creations. If I did own it, don't you think this would be animated instead?

Chapter 6

Bravermon charged at Koichi and flung his sword down on the other. "So, you're a part of them!? You're a part of those damn Legendary Warriors!!" Anger plastered his face as he used the majority of his weight to try and slice the warrior of darkness in half.

Koichi quickly blocked with his spear but greatly felt the strength of the enemy's blow. His feet dug into the ground and it was only a matter of time before he would run out of strength of his own. "Tell me…where my…brother is!!"

"I'd rather you die!" Bravermon yelled as he pulled back on his sword and slammed his foot into Koichi's stomach.

Koichi felt the immediate pain to his stomach and jumped back to make some distance. He tightened his grip on his spear and readied himself for another charge.

Takuya ran from the bushes and pulled out his D-tector. "Spirit Evolution!" The flames engulfed his entire body and once they subsided, he stood there in his Digimon form. "Agunimon!"

"AH!! Another one!? None of you deserve to be here!" Bravermon yelled excessively. He placed his other hand on the hilt of the blood stained sword and pulled it in two. He swung both swords independently and charged at his new target. He swung his swords at Takuya from two different directions and was about to make impact when Koichi struck down on both of his weapons from the air. He immediately dropped the sword his left hand held and jumped away from any attack that may come at him from his lack of defense.

"Are you okay?" Koichi asked as he stood in front of Takuya.

Takuya clenched his hands into fists. "I'm fine. We might've had more of an upper hand if you hadn't run out here without thinking."

"I wanted this to be quick. If we took any longer, he might've slipped through our hands. He would've been gone just as quickly as those two armored Digimon," Koichi stated as he kept his eyes plastered on the enemy.

"Just don't get careless, Koichi."

Bravermon shook his left hand and looked to the sword he still held. "You want fresh blood just as much as I do. Be a little patient. You are missing half of yourself."

More blood began to pump out of the sword as a high pitch screeching noise filled the area. Bravermon just laughed as he noticed the immediate pain that plagued his enemies.

"What is that!?" Koichi yelled as he covered his ears. The noise did not diminish any less from the act.

"I don't know!" Takuya yelled. He felt his body grow weaker just by trying to block himself from the noise.

* * *

"It feels like my head is going to explode!" J.P. yelled as he struggled to cover his ears. "This isn't even helping!"

Zoe fell to her knees as she struggled against the noise. "It…it hurts…"

"AH! Make it stop!!" Tommy yelled. He pulled his hat over his ears and rolled around on the ground fighting against the noise. "It's not stopping!"

The Digimon ran around trying to free themselves from the noise as it seemed to only grow louder in sound. Their running pace soon slowed down as they grew too weak to struggle any more.

"We…have to go to…where they're holding those Digimon," J.P. struggled to say as he began walking. "Come on! We have to go now!"

Zoe staggered to her feet and helped pull Tommy to his feet. The two followed after J.P. with the Digimon following weakly behind.

* * *

Takuya's body shook trying to stay standing. "It won't go a-" His eyes caught sight of the second sword that still laid on the ground just in front of Koichi. He noticed it was shaking and that it slowly began to move. The tip of the sword glittered in the sunlight and quickly shot towards Koichi. "Watch out!!"

Koichi felt his body shoved out of the way and stared at his comrade from the ground. His eyes quickly grew wide. "T-Takuya!!"

The second sword began to dig into the right side of Takuya's chest. Takuya struggled to keep it from moving any further but it dug even deeper. He fell to his knees once the blade fully pierced through his body. "AHH!! It won't stop moving!!"

"It must love the taste of your blood," Bravermon laughed as he started to walk over to Takuya.

Koichi jumped to his feet and stood guard in front of Takuya. "You stay away from him!"

"I just wanted to get my sword back. Unless you want it to kill your friend which is also fine by me," Bravermon smirked. He stopped just a few feet before Koichi and readied his sword for an attack. "This sword of mine is selfish when it comes to wanting something. It'll do anything in its power to get it."

Koichi narrowed his eyes and began to spin his spear. He suddenly charged at the enemy once he had gained enough momentum and tried to pierce the other. "Shadow Lance!!"

Bravermon deflected the spear by hitting it away with his own sword. He quickly grabbed the spear and started tugging it away. He slammed the hilt of his sword into Koichi's helmet and continued to do so until Koichi was able to pull his spear free.

Koichi jumped back and caught his breath before he ran towards the other. "Slide Evolution!! JagerLowemon!" Koichi's other Digimon form charged at Bravermon on all fours. He jumped at the other and bit a hold of the blade once the sword was swung at him again. He tried digging his teeth deep enough to break it but the blade refused to give.

Bravermon tried to pull his sword free and kicked at Koichi's face. "Let go of it!"

"I will not! Tell me where my brother is!" Koichi yelled. He tugged at the blade and suddenly released it to tackle the red armored enemy to the ground. "Tell me now!"

Bravermon stared up at the beast atop him and struggled to get free. "There's nothing to tell! For all I know, that brother of yours could be dead by now!!"

Koichi froze at the words he heard. "Y-you're lying…"

Bravermon smashed the hilt of his sword against the side of Koichi's face and threw him off. He staggered to his feet and kicked at the dark warrior who seemed to stop moving. "This will be quick." He raised his sword up into the air and was about to stab it into JagerLowemon when he felt something tackle him from the side back to the ground.

Takuya fought against the pain that ran through his whole body and used the strength he had left to slam punches into the other red Digimon. "What did you do to Koichi!?"

"I only told him what might've become of his brother already," Bravermon laughed as he blocked the other's attack with ease. "I'm surprised you're even able to move. My sword is just about all the way through you. The only thing left…is to pull it out!!" He grabbed a hold of the hilt of the second sword and forced Takuya up.

Takuya tried to fight against the other. He held on tightly to the sword still in him as Bravermon tried tugging it out. "AHH!! Koichi!!"

Bravermon lifted his leg up and kicked Takuya numerous times in the stomach. He then tugged back on the second sword and put all of his strength into kicking the other back one last time. Once the other released his hold of the sword, he quickly pulled it out.

Takuya staggered back and fell to his knees. He stared up weakly at Bravermon and could not find the energy to continue fighting. His eyes looked to JagerLowemon before he fell forward to the ground. {I can't do anything more…Koichi, snap out of it…}

* * *

J.P. led the way to where the Digimon were rounded up to. He looked back at the others. "All of the guards are going to be there. It'd be best if we evolve now then later."

Zoe and Tommy nodded their heads as they both pulled out their D-tector. The three held up their D-tectors and simultaneously said, "Spirit Evolution!!"

"Kazemon!"

"Kumamon!"

"Beetlemon!"

The three took off running again. Bokomon and the four other Digimon strayed behind. He pulled out his book and skimmed through the pages. "I can not believe that there is nothing in here on those armored Digimon. We are at a great disadvantage."

"Don't worry, Papa-mom. We'll just learn things as they come along. Now, let's go save those Digimon!" Patamon cheered raising his little paw into the air. His ears flapped about as he started flying off in the direction as the three humans. He also managed to get the other four Digimon to follow.

"I suppose so. Oh, my little Patamon is growing up so fast," Bokomon smiled as he took off running after the others.

* * *

Nightmaramon stopped walking once he made it to the edge of the cliff free from the dense trees. "We're here."

Reapmon nearly tripped again making his way to a bit of freedom. He looked over the side of the cliff and noticed a small village just a little ways down. "N-next time, can you teleport us here and skip the whole detour!?"

"I'll keep that in mind," Nightmaramon smirked as he jumped off the edge. He landed to the ground with ease and took notice of the Digimon that caught sight of him.

Reapmon landed on all fours and laughed at the fear he saw in the nearby Digimon. "So?"

"Commence interrogation."

"You got it!!" Reapmon yelled as he charged at the Digimon who began fleeing instantly.

* * *

A group of low level Digimon sat together in their cell without any hope. A beaten Terriermon whispered, "Whoever it is that came is going to be defeated by this place's new leader. There's no hope."

"No hope at all."

"There's nothing we can do."

"It's over before it even started."

"We'll be put back to work in no time."

"Hey, hey, hey! No talkin', ya hear!" a DemiDevimon yelled as he slammed his feet into the cell bars. "You guys aren't in there to be chit-chattin'!"

The group of Digimon grew silent. The yelling had added more to their feeling of no hope.

"Now, don't you let anyone in or out, ya hear!" Ogremon ordered around the cells. His eyes kept watch on the two entrances and out the windows.

The wind inside the building started to grow stronger as the guard Digimon had trouble staying on their feet.

"What's going on!?" they all questioned as fear appeared on their faces.

Kazemon appeared at one of the entrances. She smiled, "Hello! Won't you let us in?"

The guards began to run around frantically. They all headed in the direction of the opposite entrance. "I don't wanna get killed!"

"What do you guys think you're doing!? Get back here and fight!" Ogremon yelled as he swung his mallet around. He let out a growl as he threw his mallet at Kazemon.

Kazemon kicked the mallet to the side and walked into the building. She caught sight of all the slave Digimon that looked at her as if they knew she was going to fail. "Don't worry. I'll get you all out."

"Will you? Will you really?" the sad Digimon whispered.

Ogremon charged at Kazemon . When she moved out of the way, he grabbed his mallet off the floor and headed out of the door.

"Oh, darn," Kazemon pouted. She kept from going after Ogremon as she put all of her attention on the cells. "Cover your faces. Tempest Twist!" She got on her hands and started spinning. She slammed her legs into the numerous bars that housed the many Digimon.

The guards finally made it to the other exit and were a bit happy until they spotted Kumamon in their way.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kumamon laughed. He took in a huge breath and yelled, "Crystal Freeze!!"

The guards screamed as they were frozen instantly.

"Now, let's finish them off!" Beetlemon yelled as he slammed his fists together. "Thunder Fist!" He charged from behind Kumamon and slammed his fists into the frozen enemies. The ice shattered revealing each of their data streams that Kumamon and Beetlemon quickly scanned. "That should do it!"

Kazemon looked at the Digimon all huddled together and smiled. "You're all free now."

"Not for long."

"We'll be captured again."

"Or scanned like Gatomon was."

Kumamon ran over to the Digimon. "Gatomon wasn't scanned. She was with us and led us here to save you!"

"Really?" all of the Digimon asked.

"Yes, she didn't want to leave you all here," Kazemon replied. "She told us to save you."

"She said she would do that!"

"But it was too hard to truly believe."

"It wasn't foolish to run."

"But…"

"But?"

"The red leader. He looks strong."

"Too strong." The Digimon slowly began to lose the little bit of happiness that had just appeared.

"Listen, as long as we're here, that guy won't stand a chance," Beetlemon stated as he looked back at Patamon who flew into the place.

"Did we win?" Patamon asked as he saw all of the freed Digimon. "They're free! They're free!"

"Yay!" Lopmon and Salamon cheered.

"Um, shouldn't we get everybody outta here?" Kneemon asked as he looked around.

Bokomon walked in. "That would be the thing to do. Who knows if reinforcements will be coming. And that Digimon that we left Koichi and Takuya fighting with might still be around."

Kazemon tapped her chin with her right finger and said, "Bokomon, I want you to get everyone to safety. Tommy, I want you to go with him. Make sure no one is left behind."

"You got it!" Kumamon nodded in agreement. "Come on, everybody, we have to get out of here."

The Digimon were a bit slow to move out of their cells but eventually began to listen to what they were being told. "W-we're really free!"

"Takuya and Koichi should have been back by now," Beetlemon whispered as he looked out the window. "Maybe something happened."

"J.P., let's go give them a hand!" Kazemon ordered as she flew out of the building with the other following.

* * *

Bravermon clasped his two swords back into one and swung it around. "It's happy for the blood you fed it. A way of repaying you would be to end your suffering quickly."

Takuya dug his fingers into the ground and struggled to get up. {It's no use…}

Bravermon walked over to Takuya and raised his sword in the air. "Farwell, Legendary Warrior!"

"Hurricane Wave!!"

"Lightning Blitz!!"

The two attacks hit Bravermon from the back and caused him to go flying forward. He hit the ground rolling and dug his left hand into the dirt to make himself stop moving. Electric shocks continued to flow through his body keeping him on the ground. "Grr, what the hell!?"

Zoe ran over to Takuya and noticed the severe wound that was present from his back. She hesitated before taking the other into her arms. "W-what happened?" She quickly looked back at JagerLowemon who continued to just lay there. "Koichi?"

"Hey, Koichi. Come on, man, get up," J.P. said. He knelt down next to JagerLowemon and before he could touch the other's shoulder, JagerLowemon slid evolved back into Lowemon. "Koichi!"

Koichi jumped from the other's call and looked up at J.P. He slowly sat himself up and looked around. His eyes quickly grew sad as he remembered Bravermon's words. He grasped a hold of his head and started shaking it side to side. "I-it can't be true! H-he can't be!"

"Koichi? Snap out of it!" J.P. yelled as he grabbed a hold of Koichi's shoulders. "What are you talking about?"

Bravermon burst out laughing as he sat himself up free from the electric waves. He dug his sword into the ground and used it to help pull himself back to his feet. "I informed that dark warrior that the Light Spirit may already be dead."

"It can't be true! It can't be true!" Koichi yelled as he transformed back into his human form. "No, no!"

"You're lying!" J.P. yelled as he stood to his feet. "Now, tell us the truth! Where is Koji!!"

Bravermon pulled his sword free and smirked, "I don't know."

"Where is Lucemon!?" Zoe yelled. She slowly got to her feet.

"No where around here," Bravermon replied. He swung his sword over his shoulder and took a step towards the four. "Now, I would like it if you would all just DIE!!" He took off running towards the group.

"Thunder Fist!"

"Hurricane Wave!!"

Bravermon stopped running and pulled down his sword in front of his body to guard himself from the attacks.

"Blizzard Blaster!!"

Bravermon's eyes grew wide as the snowballs slammed into him from his unguarded back. He slashed his sword in the direction that Tommy appeared from and only opened himself to the other two who attacked instantly when there was an opening. "Ah!! You Legendary Warriors don't deserve to be here!!"

He constantly kept an opening for the others to attack when he attempted to try and guard hismself. He lifted up his sword and slammed it against the ground. The ground shook catching the three Digidestined off-guard for a moment. Bravermon forced the sword out of the ground and took off running with what little strength he had left. The three took chase after their enemy. Bravermon looked back and noticed he had managed to get the three to be in a single direction.

"Hurricane Wave!!"

"Blizzard Blaster!!"

"Thunder Fist!"

Bravermon stopped running and flung his sword weakly in front of himself for the attack that never came. He quickly looked over the sword and noticed Ogremon standing directly in the line of fire. His eyes narrowed as he yelled, "What the hell are you doing!?"

Ogremon held his mallet in front of his face as he struggled to block himself against the attack. His eyes looked back at Bravermon. "Y-you must get out of here, My Lord. Now's your chance!"

Bravermon gritted his teeth together. He soon took off running into the forest.

"He's getting away!" the three Digidestined yelled as they tried to go after him.

Ogremon stood in their way. "I won't allow you to catch him!"

Zoe looked back to where Koichi still sat on the ground. "Koichi, you have to go after him! He's knows where your brother is! This is your chance!!"

Koichi stared at Zoe and then to Bravermon who was beginning to disappear off in the distance. He narrowed his eyes and struggled to get to his feet quickly taking off after the red Digimon. {I can't let him get away!}

* * *

Bravermon grew slower in his running pace. There was a high pitch sound that caused him to stop running altogether. He stared at his sword and yelled, "I didn't want to run away! You got enough blood for the day! Don't you think its best to get more when I know I won't die!!"

He threw his sword on his back and continued running. He looked back and took notice of the fight that continued to go on. "Damn it, Ogremon. Why the hell did you do that?" His eyes grew wide at the sound of Ogremon's defeat. He gritted his teeth together and growled. "They'll pay for this!!"

He stopped running and tugged his sword off of his back. He ignored the slight hissy fit it was throwing and slashed at the air. A red streak mark appeared which he quickly grabbed onto and pulled apart. Blood drizzled down the edges and onto his hands as he stared at the small portal he had created.

Before he could step in, he looked back at the boy that had managed to catch up to him. "Get lost! This fight is over!"

"Tell me…where he is," Koichi said out of breath. He noticed the portal and knew he was out of time.

"I told you already! He's dead!"

"You're…lying," Koichi said as he walked over to the red armored Digimon. He stopped just a foot away and narrowed his eyes. "Please…just tell me."

Bravermon swung his sword at Koichi and stopped just before hitting him. There was a small screech from the sword as he let out a small sigh. He stepped into the portal and jumped when Koichi grabbed his left arm. He shook his arm and argued, "Let go!"

"I have to save him!" Koichi yelled.

Bravermon growled and tugged at his arm trying to free it. He placed his sword on his back and grabbed Koichi by the collar of his shirt. He raised him up to face level and muttered, "The Light Spirit you know is dead especially after Memoramon got his hands on him. So just leave it at that!"

"Memoramon?"

Bravermon gritted his teeth together. "Sorry, I would love to play chitchat with you but it looks like I better get going before those damn Warriors come to your rescue." He quickly smacked Koichi in the head and threw him to the ground. He looked back at the portal and finally stepped all the way in.

**END**

Okay, I'm stopping it right there! I had a whole other segment I wanted to throw in but that would make it too long, right? So, what did you think? I really wanna know. Did it get horribly bad near the end? Are you wondering what the heck is going on? Hopefully, not. Please send a review filled with opinions. Oh, I forgot to mention one of my all time favorite enemy Digimon: Duskmon! How could I ever forget him!? See ya in the next chapter! I don't think I'll disappear. o.o

-Noi


	7. Chapter 7

Well, here's the next chapter. Sorry, it took a while to come out. I had to deal with other things that were happening. And also, I was just a tiny bit putting it off. Hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I only own the Digimon that I have created myself. I do not own anything else.

Chapter 7

Bravermon staggered around the halls of the ruined castle. He did not have to hide how injured he actually was from the Digidestined any more. The dark hallways relaxed him in that they hid how weak he looked at that moment. He jumped when he heard the faint sound of clapping. The clapping grew louder as he grew closer to his destination.

Before he walked into the room he was aiming for, he straightened himself up and looked as if he still had energy to spare. He quickly walked into the dark room and stopped midway to kneel before the staircase that laid ahead. He had realized that the clapping had come from whom he did not want to face.

The clapping ceased as Lucemon crossed his legs and placed the side of his face onto the fist of his right hand. His eyes looked down upon Bravermon and tried to hide the anger that was slowly building up in them. "You're back so soon."

Bravermon twitched. He forced himself to stare down at the ground and to try not say a word no matter what came to mind.

"You aren't going to say anything, Bravermon?" Lucemon questioned. His lips tensed slightly as he slowly got to his feet. He took his time walking down the steps.

"What would you like me to say?" Bravermon answered with another question. His light blue eyes stayed plastered to the ground. His body jumped at the sound of Lucemon stepping off the last step. He quickly looked up at the moment that Lucemon kicked the left side of his face.

Bravermon slammed into the ground face first and was about to retaliate when he remembered that was not the thing to do in this situation. He gritted his teeth together as his body filled with anger.

"You want to hit me, don't you?" Lucemon smiled. He took a step closer to the red armored Digimon and reached down grabbing the other by his face. He forced the other to look up at him before he let go. "Tell me. What happened?"

"We were…attacked," Bravermon replied as he tried to look at anything but directly into Lucemon's eyes.

"By whom?" Lucemon questioned. His eyes grew narrower.

Bravermon gritted his teeth together. "By…those Legendary Warriors."

"Those weaklings!?" Lucemon roared. He snatched Bravermon by his neck and forced him to his feet. "You've allowed them to gain some little speck of hope of defeating me."

"But you weren't even th-"

"If I have useless warriors who can't even defeat them-" Lucemon stopped himself from saying anymore. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to a calm demeanor even though his hand tightened its grip on Bravermon's neck. He opened his eyes and stared at Bravermon's ineffective attempt to try to break away casually. "Transform back."

"W-what?"

"Transform back to that pathetic human host body you possess!!" Lucemon yelled. He released the red armored Digimon's neck and waited impatiently. "Now!"

Bravermon's eyes were wide with uncertainty. He took a step back and let out a deep breath. He slammed his fists together causing fire to surround his entire body. When it subsided, Taki fell to his knees with barely any energy. He weakly looked at his surroundings and whispered, "Where…am I?"

"Stand up or I'll make you," Lucemon ordered as he looked down on the human.

Taki looked up at Lucemon and realized just who it was standing before him. His whole body jumped as he frantically looked for a way out. He staggered to his feet and before he could even run away, Lucemon grabbed him by his hair. He felt his entire body easily tugged forward. His head was forced to turn up as he looked right into Lucemon's cold eyes. "What do you want with me!?"

Lucemon grabbed Taki by the neck with his free hand and raised the him into the air. "I thought punishing you would motivate Bravermon not to fail me again."

Taki's eyes grew wide as Lucemon did not hesitate to throw him to the side.

* * *

"AHHHH!!!" Screaming echoed through the dungeon hallway. Many stirred from within their cells as some walked over to the cell bars.

"What was that?"

"It sounded like Taki."

"He gets what he deserves."

"Don't say that."

"Why not? It's the true."

"That doesn't make it right to say that."

Koji listened to the other kids bicker with one another from the different cells. The scream of pain continued to echo through the hall as it only seemed to get worse. "I wonder what he did."

Kyon's eyes opened as he quickly sat up on his makeshift bed. His right hand grasped his left shoulder as he felt a wave of pain. His fingers began to dig into his shoulder hoping that it would somehow relieve himself of just a bit of his pain but to no avail. His sapphire eyes slowly turned to stare at Koji who sat next to the bars. "You're awake?"

"I have been since yesterday," Koji replied. He tensed up slightly from another scream that echoed through the dungeon. "Everyone's saying it's Taki."

"I suppose what goes around comes around. He's been wanting to face Lucemon for quite some time. I guess this wasn't under the circumstances he was hoping for," Kyon whispered. His eyes looked back to his left shoulder and his hand slowly released it. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh, I feel fine. I mean, my head hurts a little bit but that's nothing compared to the injuries Memoramon sustained in the fight," Koji quickly said. He rubbed the back of his head and felt the sore area. "How are you feeling? I didn't think you would be up so soon."

Kyon looked directly into Koji's eyes and then looked away. He slowly laid himself back down and used only his right hand to pull the blanket over his stinging left shoulder. He let out a small sigh. "It comes and goes. I am able to get my strength back quicker than he but it's not best of me to use it. His powers are far from being under control in this weakened state. I don't blame you for not knowing. You haven't been in this cell for very long."

"You should get some sleep then. I'll see if I can go to one of the other cells if I'm bothering you," Koji smiled as he stared at the cell door.

"I didn't say you were. Lucemon will not allow you to go back to your old cell till I've fully recovered. You're to blame for my weakened condition. Besides, who knows how long it will take for Ryun to finish his mission?" Kyon whispered. He forced his eyes closed and tried not to move.

"I'm sorry you had to save me."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault."

Koji let out a sigh and placed the back of his head against the bars.

* * *

Kouichi slowly opened his eyes and looked around at the blurred figures surrounding him. He rubbed at his eyes and cringed at the pain that waved across the left side of his face. He looked around to notice how late in the day it had become and sat up. He looked at all of the familiar faces and then to the new faces that consisted of the many Digimon they had rescued. His eyes locked on to the one friend that was not up and about as the others were. "Takuya…H-how's Takuya?"

Takuya just laid there. Bandages that had been gathered up were wrapped around his chest with the faint outline of the blood that slowly stained them. His breathing was staggered and pain filled his face every now and then. Just sleeping was not allowing him to escape from the severity of the wound.

Zoe knelt back down next to Takuya with a bowl of water in her hands. She placed the bowl on her right side and let out a small sigh. "There's not much we can do. We are only just kids." She soaked a small towel into the water and rang it out. She gently placed it on Takuya's forehead and looked at the wounds he sustained.

Kouichi stared down at the ground and narrowed his eyes. His body tensed once he remembered the name that the red armor Digimon had spoken. "…Memoramon." He quickly looked around and spotted Bokomon. He staggered to his feet basically digging his fingers into the dirt just to get up quickly. "Bokomon, Bokomon!"

"Yes?" Bokomon questioned. He looked up at the other and stood there patiently.

"Memoramon. Have you ever heard of a Digimon called Memoramon?" Kouichi quickly asked. His hands started to shake as he waited for an answer.

"Memoramon? Hmm…" Bokomon put his hand to his chin and thought for a minute. He pulled out his book and skimmed through the pages. He let out a sigh of disappointment and looked back up at Kouichi. "There's nothing on that Digimon in here, and I've personally never heard of him before."

"You might…be able to learn more about him from Eldermon," a small Terriermon whispered. He was cautious in walking over to the humans and noticed that the rest of his group grew a bit worried from him leaving them.

"Eldermon!?" Bokomon's entire body jumped. He slammed his book shut and quickly looked back at Terriermon. "Y-you know where Eldermon is located? No one knows his whereabouts. How have you come across them?"

"Uh…um…"

"We know because some of us were his keeper." A battered Digimon walked over to Terriermon and stared at Bokomon with his dead eyes. He was a human type Digimon who might have passed for an actual human if it was not for his clawed hands and the broken armor that covered his body. The right side of his face looked broken with crack marks all around it and his right eye looked more robotic than human. "When this place was in the mist of being taken over, he was quickly moved somewhere far more safe. Not a single one of us knows his complete whereabouts, but we all know a piece of it."

"Who is this Eldermon?" Kouichi asked. He refrained from looking at the Digimon's unnatural right eye.

"A very wise Digimon that knows everything," Bokomon replied.

"Even more than you?" Kneemon asked as he tilted his head.

"Yes, even more than me."

"Eldermon knows all that has to do with the Digital World and its inhabitants. His safety is a top priority," the battered Digimon stated.

"So, he would know about Memoramon and the other armored Digimon? Would he also know where Lucemon is located?" Kouichi questioned. His hands tightened into fists as he waited for the reply.

"I believe he may." The battered Digimon looked over to Takuya. His left eye blinked whereas his right eye was unable to. "He may even be able to help your friend. That injury he sustains is too severe to heal on its own."

Kouichi looked back at Takuya and then back at the Digimon. "Tell me where he is."

* * *

"Not a single one!!" Reapmon argued. He swung his scythe around and absorbed the data of the Digimon that were useless enough not to know what he was aiming for. He growled as he looked for his next victim. "None of them know where that damn Crescent Stone is!!"

Nightmaramon held a Tapirmon by its face as he stared into its eyes. The Tapirmon shook in complete fear. Nightmaramon's teeth gritted together as he threw the other Digimon to the side. "That one doesn't know either."

The Tapirmon staggered to its feet and started to make its getaway when the blade of the scythe went straight through its back. The scythe quickly absorbed the Digimon's data as Reapmon tugged it back to his side.

A clicking noise came from Reapmon's mouth as he argued, "We aren't getting anywhere. Let's just move on already."

Nightmaramon knelt down and placed his hand on the ground. A smile formed on his face. "Are you ready for a chase?"

"Just give me a direction," Reapmon growled.

Nightmaramon lifted his arm and pointed to his left. Reapmon took off running at full speed into the thick moss covered trees. One could hear his yell as he nearly tripped on one of the tree roots. After a minute, a laugh and a cry could be heard. The two sounds grew louder as Reapmon finally stepped into the opening with a child size Digimon.

"Let me go! Let me go!" the Digimon yelled. He looked as if he would be able to pass for an actual human child if it was not for his battered left eye which revealed a robotic eye beneath. He kicked his somewhat armored legs about and tried biting Reapmon's arm with his sharp teeth. He growled as he started digging his teeth into Reapmon's arm.

Reapmon growled, "Do we have to keep this rat!?" He started tugging the boy's head back by the hair but he kept on biting away at the arm. "Do you wish that I bite you too!?"

Nightmaramon walked over to the two and stared at the boy. "Do you know where the Crescent Stone is located?"

The boy's body tensed as he ceased from biting down on Reapmon's arm. He looked up at Nightmaramon and immaturely replied, "What the hell is that? I've never heard of such a thing."

"You're lying," Nightmaramon whispered. He snatched the Digimon by his face and pulled him free from Reapmon. "Tell me what you know. I won't hesitate in letting you see fears much worse than deletion."

"I don't know anything!" the boy yelled. He started digging his claws into Nightmaramon's arm. "Let go! Let go!"

Nightmaramon gritted his teeth together. "Then you leave me no choice. Nightmare Scream!"

The boy's body froze. His arms fell to his side and there was no longer any attempt to struggle. His body then began to shake with fear as his right eye grew wide.

"Now, will you tell me or do you wish to stay like this a while longer?" He raised the boy to eye level and stared into his eyes. In one swift motion, he threw the kid over his shoulder and began walking.

"D-did he tell you where it is!?" Reapmon argued. He quickly started following after the other.

"Not exactly. He doesn't know much about it at all," Nightmaramon stated, "but he is aware of someone who knows where it is. And that Digimon is…towards the water."

"So, we're going back the way we came?" Reapmon growled. "If we had gone my way in the first place-"

"We would have just fallen in water."

"Grr!! I hate you Nightmaramon! I hate you! I hate you!!"

"Oh, no, whatever shall I do? Does this mean you'll be quiet?"

* * *

"Okay, so you all know a piece of the information to Eldermon's whereabouts. Can you please tell me what you know?" Kouichi asked nicely. He held a stick in his hand and knelt down over where dirt only resided.

The group of Digimon stared at the human type Digimon and waited for him to respond. The battered Digimon looked to the others and replied, "I believe it is safe to inform him."

"Green on one side and icky on the other."

"It's wet there."

"It's underground."

"A waterfall!"

"Lots of water."

"It's very cloudy."

"Don't fall in the mud!"

"The cave is dark."

"There are many ways you can go."

"Don't get lost."

"Sentrymon will lead the way!"

Kouichi stared at what he scribbled down. "I don't know where to begin."

Tommy stared over Kouichi's shoulder and looked at the clues. "Is there a place to begin?"

"Of course. I will be the one to lead you part of the way," the human type Digimon replied. His left eye looked to Takuya. "It will be hard to journey with your friend in that condition."

Kouichi looked at Takuya and then back at the ground. "It's the only thing we can do. We can't leave him behind when there is a chance that he could be healed by Eldermon."

"Very well. Each of you, memorize what the Digimon have told you. It's better than one struggling to do so. Once you have done that, we shall leave." The battered Digimon walked over to Takuya and stared at the wounds. He noticed Zoe stare up at him and tried to put on a convincing smile. "You two shall have to memorize one of the lines as well."

"I don't think Takuya can. I'll just have to memorize his, too," Zoe pouted.

"'Don't get lost.' 'Sentrymon will lead the way,'" the battered Digimon repeated.

Kouichi stared at the lines and gave one to each of the Digimon in their own group and to J.P. and Tommy. "Okay. Everyone's got one and I've got two. I think we're ready."

The battered Digimon knelt down and took Takuya into his arms. He felt the other fight against the pain as he started walking. "Follow me. We must not waste any more time."

The Digimon that were saved by the group waved 'good-bye.' Kouichi took up the rear of his group.

"Kouichi!" Gatomon called. She ran over to Kouichi's side and hugged him. "Thank you so much! I wish you luck in finding your brother."

Kouichi knelt down. "Thank you. I will find him. Now, you take care of the other Digimon. Make sure they stay safe."

Gatomon nodded her head and ran back to the other Digimon. Kouichi waved his hand at the Digimon that were saved and started walking to catch up with his group. He stared up at the sky and let out a small sigh. {I will find you, Koji. Just wait a bit longer.}

**END**

It turned out to be another long chapter. Hopefully, I will not take too long to come out with the next chapter, but I'm not making any promises. Send a review telling me what you think of it. I love to read what you guys have to say.

-Noi


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm sorry for not coming out with this chapter sooner. It's been months since the last one came out, and I was not planning on this one taking too much time. A lot of things have happened. I started a new semester at a new college and also moved into an apartment away from my family. It took a while for every thing to get settled down. I caught a small break for the moment but will have to face an upcoming research paper pretty soon. I hope the next chapter will not take too long to come out. I'll try my best! .**

**Chapter 8**

**One of the torches lit up as a figure crawled weakly on the stone floor. A bloodied left hand reached out and dug into the floor. The arm alone struggled to pull its body forward. A head came into view. The hair upon it was growing hard from the blood that began to dry. The other hand tried to reach forward but immediately stopped from the wave of pain that streamed through the arm. A small cry of pain escaped from the figure's mouth as he struggled to keep himself quiet.**

**Footsteps echoed down the hall growing louder as they drew near. The figure on the ground tensed up and quickly covered his head with his left arm. His body began to shake with fear as the sound of the footsteps stopped right next to him. "Why aren't you in your cell?"**

**The figure looked up at the other with his wide emerald eyes. "W-Wizardmon…"**

**Wizardmon caught sight of the other's beaten state. He knelt down and grabbed the boy's right arm.**

"**Ahh!" the boy cried in pain. "Let go! Let go!"**

**Wizardmon released the arm. "It's broken…I have to get you to your cell so I can tend to your wounds."**

"**Don't bother…I can…get there…myself," the boy whispered as he started to drag his body once more. The tips of his left hand began to bleed from the strain, and he soon stopped moving once more.**

**Wizardmon walked around to the boy's other side and reached down to grab the left arm. He pulled the arm around his neck and slowly started walking. "We'll be there shortly, Taki."**

* * *

**Nightmaramon trudged on through the thick grass with the human type Digimon still over his shoulder. He looked back and noticed that Reapmon's pace began to slow and that he was no longer walking in a straight line but more diagonally then anything else. "Reapmon?"**

"**Huh!?" Reapmon jumped. He quickly looked around as he reached for his weapon. Once he noticed that nothing dangerous was around, he looked at Nightmaramon. "What the hell did you call me for!?"**

"**You were falling asleep." Nightmaramon stopped walking and faced the other.**

"**I was not!" Reapmon argued. "You need to get your eyes checked. You see, I'm just full of energy!" He ran passed Nightmaramon and tripped disappearing into the high grass.**

**When Reapmon did not reappear from the grass, Nightmaramon walked through the thick grass over to the other. He let out a small sigh and stared at the human boy that lay in Reapmon's place sleeping. "This was the last thing I wanted to happen…"**

* * *

**Thunder echoed throughout the sky which slowly began growing dark. The battered Digimon that held Takuya in his arms stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sky. "The darkness is coming sooner than expected, and it will bring the rain."**

**Kouichi stared up at the dark clouds and cringed when a raindrop splashed on his face. He wiped his right cheek and looked to the others in the group. "We have to find shelter."**

"**This way," the battered Digimon spoke. He veered off to the left from the direction he was leading the group and made his way swiftly and gently through the thicker bushes and grass.**

**Tommy struggled to fight against the branches and leaves that were just his height and nearly got stuck in some slick mud until J.P. helped pull him out. "Thanks J.P." He kept his eyes forward staring at the tall Digimon that led the way. **

**The rain slowly began to pick up as each drop grew heavier than the last. Zoe ran up beside the tall Digimon and covered her eyes from the rain to look up at him. "Where are you taking us? Are we almost there?" She heard no reply as she struggled to keep up with the human type Digimon's pace.**

**Kouichi looked to his Digimon companions and made sure none of them got separated from each other. "Come on, guys. Walk in front of me. I don't wanna lose sight of you."**

**Patamon landed on top of Bokomon's head and let out a tired sigh. "It's getting too hard to fly in the rain, Papa-mom."**

"**Oh, yes, it is getting harder to walk as well," Bokomon said. He struggled to keep himself from slipping and found not doing what Kneemon was doing was the best thing to do.**

"**The rain's getting harder. Shouldn't we start to speed up?" Kneemon questioned. He wiped at the mud on his pants as he then ran over to his companion's side. He had built up momentum from the run that he was unable to stop himself as the mud slammed him into Bokomon.**

**The two fell to the ground. Patamon had fled the small accident by air. Salamon and Lopmon giggled at the scene. Kouichi walked over to the small group and helped Bokomon and Kneemon to their feet. "Are you two okay?"**

"**Kneemon, don't do that again."**

"**I'm sorry."**

**Bokomon noticed the distance that had been made between his small group and the rest of the group. He let out a small sigh as he wiped the mud off. "That Digimon is content on telling us as little information as we want to know. He is mysterious enough to not be mentioned anywhere in my book." He looked up at Kouichi. "Eldermon may seem like a great lead when it comes to finding your brother, but if on the dark side of things something happens, please don't have all of your hopes lost. I know just about as much about him through the whispers I have heard."**

"**I'll try not to let all of my hope disappear," Kouichi whispered. He signaled with his hands to move forward. They were already beginning to get Zoe and the others worried. The entire group reunited and trudged on through the thickness of it all.**

**The battered Digimon soon came to a stop. Just before him was a clearing with a massive tree in the middle whose branches and leaves shielded the grass below from an overabundance of light and rain. "We shall stay here through the night."**

"**Wow!" Tommy laughed as he ran out into the clearing. It was free of the heavy drops of the rain. He pulled off his hat and began to ring it out as the others walked into the clearing.**

**The battered Digimon walked over to the base of the tree and gently sat Takuya against the trunk. He slowly sat a few feet away from the other and let out a small sigh. He placed the back of his head against the tree and closed his left eye. His right one could not close and looked as if it watched the others run about.**

**Kouichi looked around the clearing and then back the way they had come. Rain was still pouring down with brute force that the lack of practically all of the rain was such a difference. Kouichi took in a deep breath. "Everyone, we need to gather wood for a fire before it gets too dark and we need to find some food to eat."**

**The group nodded their heads in agreement and quickly formed into two groups. They eventually headed back into the rain leaving Kouichi behind with the battered Digimon and Takuya. Kouichi just stood there. His eyes darted about the open area making sure that no one had a chance at sneaking up on him.**

* * *

**Nightmaramon sat amongst the high grass as the rain thumped quietly onto the darkly tinted semi-circle barrier that shielded him, the Digimon child, and the human boy that was once Reapmon. His spear was thrust into the ground at the very center of the barrier. He looked around at the high grass that surrounded him and then up to the sky. "I don't think it's going to stop raining any time soon."**

"**Aw, man…I…feel…horrible." The human boy slowly stirred from his slumber. His right hand immediately went to the aid of his head which had a slight headache. His left arm weakly sat his body up and his eyes were not quick to looking at its new and unusual surroundings. He let out a huge and drawn out yawn that then caused him to rub at his eyes. He felt how wet and icky his hands were and stared at them. "Mud?" His eyes quickly scouted the area and took in the wilderness and the rain that surrounded him. His eyes then focused on the human type Digimon that sat at the opposite side of the barrier. His body began to shake in complete fear. "Y-y-y-y-YOU!"**

**Nightmaramon remained silent. His visible mouth twitched a bit. "It took you long enough to realize that you weren't in your cell. Too bad you lack enough energy to sustain Reapmon's form."**

"**I-I wouldn't want to take that damned form anyway!!" The boy crawled back as far he was able to until his back hit the side of the barrier. He stared at the barrier that kept everything out and then to the source of the thing which was the spear stabbed into the ground. He was about to reach out his right hand for it when his entire body completely froze. His eyes looked around hectically as he struggled to move his body.**

"**Don't touch what isn't yours."**

* * *

**Tommy walked back into the safety of the large tree and shook from head to toe. He dropped the branches that were in his arms and looked over at Kouichi. The rain had gotten harder since they split the group in two to look for food and wood. He looked back into the trees at the rest of his small group that he had managed to ditch in the rain. **

**J.P. walked into the clearing with numerous branches over his shoulder. "This is all we could find. Too bad they're all wet." He walked a short distance before he placed the wood down on the ground atop Tommy's pile. He wiped at his dripping wet arms and let out a loud sneeze. "Oh, great. I think I'm getting sick."**

"**That's a lot of rain!" Kneemon complained. He walked into view fighting with the branches near the ground. The group of sticks he had in his arms were falling from his grasp with each step he took. He noticed the small pile that was formed and rain over to it causing more of the sticks he held to go scattered about under the safety of the tree.**

**Kouichi walked over to the three and smiled. "Good job. We'll be able to use them once they dry up." He looked back at the trees and the gushing rain. "The others should be back soon."**

"**I sure hope so. I don't want Zoe to catch a cold." J.P. had muttered the second sentence under his breath. He began to mess with his clothes wringing out as much water as he was able.**

"**Kou-Kouichi…"**

**Kouichi quickly looked back near the base of the trunk and noticed Takuya slowly stir where he lay.**

"**Takuya, don't move," Kouichi ordered. He ran over to his friend's side and held him in place. "You're in no condition to move around. You're injured, remember?"**

"**O-of course, I remember…Pain doesn't…disappear into thin air…" Takuya's eyes looked over to his right and noticed the battered Digimon. "Who is that?"**

"**Um, he's the one that's helping us. He's leading us to a Digimon called Eldermon who may know where Koji is. He may also be able to help you. Your wounds are a bit too severe for us to handle."**

"**What is his name?" Takuya whispered.**

"**I don't know what it is. He hasn't told us anything about himself." Kouichi leaned in closer to Takuya and spoke even quieter. "Bokomon doesn't have any information on that Digimon anywhere in his book. He's a mystery to all of us."**

**Takuya eyed the battered Digimon and then looked directly into Kouichi's eyes. "Keep your eyes on him…I want to trust him…but I'm in no condition to be making decisions for everyone…Watch out for everyone while I'm out of commission…'kay?"**

"**Yeah." Kouichi looked back and smiled at the sight of the rest of the group. "I'll take care of everyone. Just get better soon. You are the leader."**

**Takuya forced out a small laugh and then let out a deep breath. His eyes grew dreary as he had a hard time keeping eye contact with Kouichi. "I'll try…"**

**Kouichi stood up from the other and looked over to the battered Digimon. His body jumped realizing that the Digimon was staring directly at him. {He was awake this entire time?}**

**The battered Digimon looked over to the rest of the group. "You're friend's a strong one to be talking with those wounds. I really do hope that Eldermon can help him, but that requires something on your part."**

"**What do I have to do?"**

"**I can not tell you all the answers. You'll just have to find out when the time is right." The battered Digimon let out a small sigh. His head tilted down, and it seemed as if he went back to sleep.**

"**Are you really asleep this time?" Kouichi muttered. He walked over to the rest of the group. {I'll do what I can, Takuya.}**

* * *

**Nightmaramon looked up to the dark sky and watched as the raindrops splashed against his barrier. He stared over at the human boy who struggled to move. His mouth tensed. "Will you keep your hands to yourself?"**

"**Y-yes," the boy struggled to say. His eyes grew wide as his body finally slammed against the ground. His entire body shook in pain. His muscles were sore. "Y-you d-devil…"**

"**If you want, I can have you in a continuous nightmare like that young Digimon is suffering through. It would be no problem. It might even make things easier."**

"**I can do without that." The boy let out a deep breath and just laid there not wanting to move an inch. His eyes looked passed the barrier and into the tall grass. His eyes quickly looked over to the young Digimon. He watched as the Digimon's body jerked every now and then. The boy forced his eyes closed and whispered, "The poor thing."**

* * *

**Taki laid on the left side of his body atop his makeshift bed. His knees were pulled up to his chest by his left arm while his right arm hung over the side of the bed heavily wrapped in thick bandages. His emerald eyes held no usual flare of anger. They stared at the bars and began to follow their simple shape. "Don't question the master…Don't disobey his orders…Everything he says is law…Destroy the Digidestined…**

"**They cannot save us…"**

****END****

**The end of another chapter! Again, I apologize for not coming out with this sooner. I hope I still have readers. Please leave me a review. They still inspire me to keep writing. I'll try to start up the next chapter soon though school may be against me. Send me a message if you want to know if I'm still alive or just check out my profile page. I'll try to keep that updated if something comes up. See you in the next chapter!**

**-Noi**


	9. Chapter 9

It's been a while. Sorry, I didn't come out with this sooner. I got overwhelmed with homework and whatnot. Then I broke my leg which didn't make anything better. Now, that I'm Christmas break, maybe I'll be able to get some chapters out. I hope so.

Disclaimer: I only own the Digimon that I have created myself. I do not own anything else.

Chapter 9

Kyon's eyes flashed open. He continuously heard a whisper next to his ear. He stared in the direction to find that nothing was there. The whispers grew louder and louder as the seconds passed. He covered his left ear with his right hand and tried to dig his right ear deep into the pillow. His body shook trying to free himself from the loud noise. "W-what is it…"

{You know what to do…}

Kyon's shaking immediately stopped. He weakly sat himself up and hesitated before he stood up from his makeshift bed. His eyes looked over to Koji who still dwelled in slumber and then over to the cell door. He took a couple of steps forward over to the door and just stood there. His eyes were a duller shade of their sapphire color. "Open."

The door swung open, and the torch across from the cell immediately lit up. Kyon's eyes avoided looking directly into the flame. He staggered through the door and did not succumb to the usual transformation that the others were forced to go through. His eyes glanced around and quickly closed as a shot of pain ran up his left arm. His teeth gritted together. "St-stop it…"

His legs shook as he walked unsteadily down the hall. His right hand felt along the cold stone wall and pushed against to keep himself moving forward. Torches flickered on acting as a sort of motion sensor to the dungeon when he walked by them. He soon came to a stop and looked to the cell just opposite of him.

Just as he pushed himself away from the wall, the door to the cell forced itself open. Kyon walked in and looked to the only occupant. "Are you awake?"

"What are you doing here?" Taki's voice weakly growled. His eyes flashed open and stared over at the other. "Did you come here to claim this as your new room?"

Kyon's bottom lip quivered. "I'm here…to see what you saw…"

Taki's eyes grew wide. He sat up and ignored the pain that was pulsing through his right arm. "Y-you stay the hell away from me!"

"I have no choice. I was given the order."

Taki staggered to his feet and made sure to keep his distance from Kyon. His eyes looked to the open cell door. He took a step toward the door and froze. Fear crept up his spine.

"You know better than to step out of this cell willingly. Just what do you think Bravermon is going to do? Do you believe that he will run away just to benefit you? You're a host body just like the others. Lucemon is in control, and what I came here to do is nothing compared to what I did to that light spir--" Kyon collapsed to the ground. His entire body shook as he tried to compose himself.

Taki narrowed his eyes. "You're one to talk. You're in no condition to leave that cell. I believe that's what Nightmaramon informed everyone. Lucemon doesn't care about us. We're disposable. Don't think that because that spirit of yours is different that you're any better than us!

"Here."

He knelt down and held out his left hand. "This is the only thing I feel like offering at the moment. Be quick at looking at my memories, but if I find out that you deleted any, I swear, I will find a way for Bravermon to kill you."

"I understand," Kyon whispered. He slowly raised up his right hand and took the other's hand. "I promise not to steal your memories."

* * *

Kouichi slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the fire that blazed at the center of the group. He was the first to wake. He noticed that the rain had lessened and caught sight of the sunlight that tried to fight its way through the dense leaves of the tree everyone was under.

A yawn escaped from his mouth as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. His eyes looked around the pleasant area, and he jumped immediately when he saw something standing near the group. He let out a sigh once he realized it was only the battered Digimon. "You scared me."

"I apologize." The battered Digimon looked at Kouichi with his robotic eye. "We should head out as soon as we can."

"Why are you helping us? You haven't told us your name since we started to follow you. How do I know that you're not leading us into a trap and that this Eldermon you mentioned isn't just an excuse you made up to get us to come along with you. Those lines you wanted us to memorize, what do they mean?" Kouichi questioned. He looked away from the Digimon's inhuman eye.

"I truly believe that you want to save this world. You lost to Lucemon and yet, here you are, ready and willing to fight off those that he has gotten to join him. Your leader risked his life for you. You are not a selfish group." The battered Digimon walked over to Takuya's side. "My name is irrelevant. It has served no good to those who have learned it. As for Eldermon, he will be the one to judge you when he meets all of you. He will be the one to explain what he can and can not do for you."

Kouichi stood up slowly. He stared back into the battered Digimon's eye and nodded his head. "I see…"

"You're brother is still alive."

Kouichi's eyes widened. "H-how--"

"The dark spirit within you would have felt its brother spirit disappear from this world. You two have a bond stronger than most. Don't forget that. Never forget what you know."

* * *

Nightmaramon pulled his spear from the ground which slowly caused the dark barrier to disintegrate into thin air. Small drops of water continued to fall to the ground but that did not seem to faze Nightmaramon anymore. He stared at the somewhat comatose Digimon and snatched him by his arm. He placed the young Digimon over his shoulder and looked back at the human boy who continued to sleep.

"Wake up."

The human twitched at the dark Digimon's words but continued to keep his eyes closed.

"What makes you think that I'm going to actually believe that you're asleep. Now, get up, Akira!" Nightmaramon's mouth slowly began to reveal his teeth. He raised his hand which held on to the spear into the air and struck it down just inches from the human's face.

The human jumped wide awake and quickly crawled away from the spear. "W-w-what!?"

Nightmaramon pulled his spear from the ground and spun it causing it to disappear into nothing but black light. "We're leaving. I doubt you want me to carry you."

"N-no, I can walk," the human boy quickly said. He staggered to his feet and wiped off the dirt and mud that clung to his clothes. He shook his head as a layer of rainwater began to drench his hair and shoulders. "Will this rain ever let up?"

"No…" Nightmaramon started to walk away through the thick, tall grass. He paused for a moment when Akira had not followed and looked back.

"I-I'm coming." The human boy took off running after the dark armored Digimon. His eyes darted around as if he was looking for a way to escape easily and quickly.

* * *

Koji's eyes flashed open as if startled from a dream. His eyes looked over to Kyon's makeshift bed and found that it was empty. He quickly sat up and looked around to find the cell completely empty. His eyes noticed the open cell door. "Kyon?"

After a moment of silence, he crawled out of his bed and stood just before the door. His body shook hesitating before he ran out of the cell. He stood there in the hall for a moment before looking at his arms. "I didn't transform…"

He looked around and jumped when the cell door slammed shut. The sound echoed down the dungeon hall.

"W-what was that?"

"Oh, Kyon's just at it again. Nothing to worry about."

"In his condition?"

"He has no choice, Eri."

"The poor thing."

Koji was about to walk in the direction the voices came from but then decided against it. He walked left from his cell and hesitated each time he passed by a cell. Two of the cells he walked by held inhabitants that were still sleeping. He walked by the third cell and froze once he heard a voice.

"Who are you?"

Koji looked into the dark cell and caught sight of a boy slightly older than he was sitting at the far corner staring at him. He looked around and let out a small sigh, "Come on, Naota, you know who I am."

"I've never seen you before this very moment." The older boy turned his face toward the wall as if hearing a whisper in that direction and nodded his head. His golden eyes looked back over at Koji and a smile plastered on his face. "Or maybe I have. It's been a while--" He stared back over at the wall for a mere second. "Koji. You look completely different from the last time that I saw you." He let out a small cough.

"When was the last time that we saw one another?" Koji questioned. He looked around once more and struggled to remember certain memories.

"You know, it was--" Naota looked to the wall once more. "A while back. You're always with…Kyon and Ryun that you never have any time for…any of us." He let out a muffled laugh.

"Do you know where Kyon is?"

"Hmm? Have you lost him?" Naota tried to conceal his laugh once more. "I did see him…earlier."

"Where?" Koji had his full attention on the other. "Do you know where he went?"

Naota staggered to his feet and tried to brush off the dirt that clung to his clothes and skin. He walked over to the bars and smiled at Koji. His dirtied face was revealed by the torchlight. "Come here…get closer to the bars. You don't want everyone to know where he is, now do you?"

Koji took a cautious step towards the bars and jumped when Naota reached out and snatched a hold of his collar. "W-what are you doing, Naota?"

"It's not fair that you can walk outside these bars normally! I despise you Light Spirit! I hate you!" Naota yelled. His hand held on tight to Koji's shirt. "It's not fair. After everything you've done to them, why are they the ones to suffer?"

"Naota, let him go."

Naota's eyes quickly locked on to the new figure. He tugged Koji closer to the bars and growled, "I despise you, too, Kyon. You aren't plagued by your spirit like everyone else is to theirs." He forced out a yell and shoved Koji away from the bars. "Get out of here."

Koji stared at Naota and watched as he walked back into the shadows. Naota's eyes continued to stare directly at Koji.

Kyon clung to the wall and struggled to walk. He weakly placed his hand on Koji's right shoulder and forced on a smile. "Do you think you can help me walk to Lord Lucemon?"

Koji's body tensed at the sound of the name. A speck of anger appeared in his thoughts. He shook it off as he looked over at Kyon and whispered, "Yeah, ok."

* * *

"This rain just won't let up." Zoe hid under the protection of a big leaf she used as an umbrella. She kept close to the battered Digimon's side and made sure that Takuya was continuously safe in the mysterious Digimon's care.

"This area is cursed to mourn a thousand mourns. The length of each is unknown," the battered Digimon stated. He stopped for a moment and looked around.

A clearing was just ahead. Kouichi noticed the opening and walked passed the battered Digimon. He was cautious once he walked free from the tall grass. A huge lake rested before him. He looked around at the clearing and noticed that the side of the lake that he stood on consisted of plants that looked alive. The other side looked dead and overrun with moss.

"Green on one side, and icky on the other…" Patamon flew over to Kouichi and landed on his head. "It's one of the lines! It's one of the lines!"

"It was referring to the plants. What's the next line?" Kouichi looked back at the others and waited for a reply.

"It's wet there! It's underground!" Lopmon and Salamon cheered.

"A waterfall," Kneemon pitched in.

"It's very cloudy." Bokomon stared up at the dark sky.

"Don't fall in the mud." J.P. scratched his head in thought.

"The cave is dark," Tommy spoke up.

"'Cave'?" Kouichi looked around the area. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the water. "Where is the cave?"

"There isn't even a waterfall. You sure these clues aren't bogus." J.P. walked over to the edge of the water. His eyes grew wide right when he stepped into the watery mud. "W-what the--"

"J.P.!" Kouichi and the others quickly ran over to their friend. They kept their distance from the mud and tried to reach out as far as they could.

"I shouldn't have opened my big mouth," J.P. muttered under his breath. He struggled to reach for the incoming hands but realized that his struggling caused him to sink faster. "Come on, guys. Grab a stick or something!"

The battered Digimon watched as the humans and the smaller Digimon ran around looking for a sturdy enough branch. He looked to the ever sinking J.P. and noticed the fear that began to grow on his face as he was now chest deep in the mud. "Stop moving!"

J.P. froze and looked at the battered Digimon. "I-I did…"

"You should never take the lines lightly otherwise this will happen."

"I-I get it. I'll take them seriously from now on," J.P. said. His eyes frantically looked around. A smile quickly appeared as he noticed a sturdy stick coming his way. "Come on. Hurry, hurry."

Kouichi ran over to the side of the mud and struggled to hold out the large branch. "Grab it before I lose my grip on it."

J.P. waved his hands around trying to reach for the branch. His movement caused him to sink even further into the mud. "I can't reach it. Just a little closer."

Kouichi took a small step forward and fought against his arms to keep from dropping the branch. "Grab it, J.P.!"

J.P. flung his weight towards the branch and snatched it. "I got it! Pull me out!"

Kouichi's entire body shook as he tried to pull the branch back. His legs were about to give when Zoe and Tommy grabbed a hold of the branch and helped pull J.P. out of the mud.

J.P. crawled on the stable dirt and tried to catch his breath. "Never…again…"

"Now that that's settled, we can scratch off another line," Kouichi sighed as he sat down on the ground.

"I think it's safe to cross out 'it's very cloudy' as well. We've been experiencing nothing but cloudy skies," Bokomon stated. He walked over to Salamon and tapped his chin. "Salamon, do you mind repeating your line."

"'It's underground.'"

"Suppose the cave is underground. There is no entrance as far as we can see and uh--" Bokomon grew silent. "Perhaps in the lake?"

"The lake?" Kouichi stared at the water and then looked up at the battered Digimon. "Is that where it is? Is the entrance to the cave underwater?"

"If it is, then your friend will not be able to continue forward in his condition." The battered Digimon's eye closed while the other eye looked towards the lake.

"What? But Eldermon has to heal him," Kouichi quickly stated.

"Then you will have to bring Eldermon here unless you would rather his wound gets worse."

"Of course not. There's no way I wou--"

"Kouichi," Zoe interrupted catching the other's attention. "First, we have to be sure that the cave is located in the lake."

"Yeah, I'll go check it out." Kouichi got to his feet and cautiously walked over to the water. He did not want a repeat of what happened just minutes ago. He slipped off his shoes and hesitated a bit before he pulled off both his green shirt and red long-sleeved shirt. He took a deep breath and ran into the water.

* * *

Nightmaramon paused once he finally caught sight of the lake through the icky plant life. He pulled the Digimon off his shoulder and held him in front of his face. "Will you cooperate? Where do we go now?"

The human-type Digimon opened his right eye and stared at Nightmaramon weakly. "It's…underwater…"

"Here. Watch him," Nightmaramon ordered. He threw the Digimon at Akira causing the two to fall to the ground.

"What was that for!?" Akira yelled. He struggled to get back up and pushed the Digimon gently to the side.

"Be quiet and stay there. If you try to run, I will find you." Nightmaramon walked towards the lake and froze once he was at the edge of the plant life. He caught sight of the group standing on the other side of the lake. "The Digidestined."

* * *

Kouichi took in a deep breath before he went under the water. He looked around the clear water and noticed that it was extremely deep. He forced himself to keep swimming downward and finally came to a stop when he noticed a huge Digimon swimming along the sides of the lake. Fear overtook him as he quickly swam to the surface. He gasped for air and looked around for the others noticing just how far he had swam away from them. "W-what was that?"

"Kouichi, did you see anything!" Zoe yelled. She waved her hands into the air to try and get his attention.

"N-not yet!" Kouichi looked around at the water before he took another breath and swam down. His eyes darted to any little thing that moved. {Where did it go?}

{Where did what go?}

Kouichi quickly turned around and found himself face to face with a serpent-type Digimon. He tried to swim away but realized that the Digimon had completely surrounded him with the rest of its body.

Its front claws were at either side of Kouichi, and it had no back legs. Its stared at Kouichi with eyes that slowly changed to different colors. {What is it that you're looking for?}

**END**

I decided to end it there because I really wanted to finish the chapter and let you know that I didn't disappear. Please review! I love to read what you think of the story. Until the next chapter!

--Noi


	10. Chapter 10

The next chapter! Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, though it would be cool if I did. I own only the characters I've made up.

Chapter 10

Zoe walked along the edges of the lake avoiding the different patches of quicksand. Her arms were crossed as she stared out into the lake. "Where is he? It shouldn't have taken him this long. He hasn't even come up for air."

"Maybe he found the cave. He could be checking it out for us," J.P. said. He sat away from the water's edges. "Just give him some more time. I'm sure he's fine."

* * *

Kouichi just stared at the huge Digimon once he realized that there was no way that he could get away. {There's no way I can get to the others.}

{Tell me, Human. What are you looking for in this lake?} The Digimon's tail slowly and gently moved back and forth against the water. A small bubble formed from the Digimon's mouth and grew bigger as the seconds passed. It freed the bubble from its mouth and watch as the bubble took Kouichi inside.

"What is this?" Kouichi asked. He stopped when he realized he was able to breath within the bubble. He looked at the Digimon and noticed that it's eyes turned blue. "I'm looking for a cave."

{I would think it easier to search for a cave above water.}

"I need to go to the cave here."

{Why?} The Digimon tilted it's head to the side.

"There's someone that I need to see. I need his help. I don't have a lot of time to waste, so if you want a fight, I won't hesitate in giving you one." Kouichi pulled his D-tector out of his pocket.

The Digimon started to laugh. Its mouth opened for a change and revealed the sharp teeth it owned. {I don't wish to fight unless it is needed. That item in your hand means you're a Digidestined, correct?}

"Y-yes."

{I have no need to see you as a threat. Are the others nearby?}

"They're on shore waiting for me. Where is the cave?" Kouichi asked. He looked around searching for some sign of a cave opening.

The Digimon ignored Kouichi as it twisted its body around. {Take in a deep breath.} It gently touched and popped the bubble with its sharp claws. {Let's go see your friends. Grab on to my arm.}

Kouichi reached out for the Digimon's arm and noticed the sharp curved spikes along its back. He let out a little yell when the Digimon took off suddenly.

The Digimon's slick and scaled body allowed it to quickly swim through the water. Its eyes changed green, and it slowed down its swimming speed as it came up to the surface. It poked its head out of the water and stopped just before it came to the shore. It caught sight of the group and clawed its way on land.

"What is that thing?" Tommy quickly took steps back away from the large Digimon.

Zoe looked to the water and then to the Digimon. "What did you do with Kouichi?"

"He hasn't done anything to me." Kouichi walked out from the other side of the Digimon. "He just won't tell me where the cave is."

"You're never one to make things easy, are you, Cavalrymon?" the battered Digimon questioned.

Cavalrymon stared at the battered Digimon with red eyes. Its eyes quickly turned yellow at the sight of Takuya. {How is that human?}

"Not well. They wish to see Eldermon to get some answers and to help their friend. I believe it is your decision whether they continue or not."

A small growl came from Cavalrymon as it debated with the situation. {Very well. I'll take them. The Digidestined are rumored to be the ones to save our world even though they may have failed once. They have no reason to harm Eldermon. Isn't that correct, Kouichi?}

Kouichi jumped at the sound of his name. He was pulling on his long-sleeved shirt. "Yes, we want to know the location of Lucemon, so we can go and defeat him."

{That's not the only thing you wish to learn.} Cavalrymon took in a deep breath and pushed its body back into the water. {I will take you if you are ready.}

Tommy and J.P. cautiously walked over to the water. The smaller Digimon followed after them.

"Oh, getting wet after being in this rain shouldn't be so bad, right?" Bokomon asked as he stopped just before the water.

"Well, if it's freezing, that'll be a problem," Kneemon stated.

"That is very true." Bokomon slowly put his foot into the water and shivered at it being at a much lower temperature than everything else.

Zoe looked at the battered Digimon and then to Kouichi. "What about Takuya?"

"I will stay with your friend if you would like," the battered Digimon offered.

Kouichi looked up at the battered Digimon and shook his head. "No, I want you to go with them. I'll stay behind and watch him while I wait for you guys to return."

The battered Digimon nodded his head and gently placed Takuya on the ground under the protection of a nearby tree's leaves. He walked over to the edge of the water and waited with the others.

Zoe walked over to Kouichi and said, "I'll stay with Takuya. You need to be the one to go with the others. You're determined to find out where Koji is. I wouldn't want you to wait any longer."

"Ok, we'll be back soon." Kouichi nodded his head and looked down at Takuya before he started walking away.

"Kouichi, our lines are 'Don't get lost' and 'Sentrymon will lead the way.'" Zoe walked over to Takuya and sat down next to him. "We'll be waiting for you guys to return."

{Are all of you finally ready?} Cavalrymon poked its head from the water.

"Yes, we are! Yes, we are!" the three small Digimon cheered.

Cavalrymon's head disappeared under the water. It flipped its tail onto shore. {Grab a hold of my tail and be ready to hold your breath.}

The kids and the Digimon grabbed a hold of the tail. They all took in a deep breath and were surprised when the large Digimon suddenly took off into the water.

"Good luck, guys," Zoe whispered. She pulled her leaf umbrella over her head and watched the rain continue to fall in front of her.

* * *

Nightmaramon watched as the majority of the group disappeared into the water. His attention focused on Zoe and Takuya and a smirk formed. "This will be easy."

He took off running along the edge of the forest. The closer he got to the two, the harder it was for him to hold back his laughter.

Akira watched Nightmaramon take off running and staggered to his feet. "I don't care what he says. I'm getting out of here."

He looked down at the young Digimon and reached down snatching an arm. He pulled the other up and wrapped the arm around his neck. "What's the best way out of here?"

"The water," the young Digimon whispered. He weakly turned his head and looked at Akira with his battered left eye. "We'll be…safe there."

Akira let out a small sigh. "First the rain. Now, you want me to go swimming. I just can't get dry, can I?"

He began to walk through the icky plant life and stopped once he made it to the end of it. His eyes looked over in the direction he knew Nightmaramon headed in and spotted Zoe and Takuya. "There are humans over there? Is he aft--"

{Kill them! Kill them!!}

"Ah! N-no," Akira struggled to say. His body began to shake as he fought away the thoughts of murder. He continued to look in the direction of the two Digidestined and took a step out in the open towards them.

"The…water," the young Digimon whispered. He was still far too weak to move on his own.

"I'm sorry. I can't just let Nightmaramon kill them. They're just like me. Maybe they can hel--" Akira froze and fought against the high pitch noise that rang through his mind. "Ah!"

He pushed himself away from the young Digimon and staggered around with his hands pressing against his head. His feet slipped on the mud sending him to the ground. His whole body began to shake.

{Kill them! Cut them to pieces!}

* * *

Cavalrymon swam through the water as quickly as it could. The water grew darker in color as it swam away from the sunlight. The kids and Digimon struggled to hold on as they fought with themselves to hold on to their breath.

{How much longer?} Kouichi thought. He forced his eyes closed and tightened his grip on the Digimon's tail.

{Just a little longer.} Cavalrymon came to a stop and began crawling into a tunnel in the ground. Its claws dug into the ground as it quickly pulled its body free from the tunnel and swam to the new surface. It quickly lifted its tail up from the water and began swimming to the dark and damp shore.

The group gasped for air once they got out of the water. They looked around and tried to adjust to the darkness.

"Where are we?" Tommy's voice asked through the darkness.

Kouichi felt the tail stop once it hit the shore and crawled on the rocky surface. "It's the underwater cave."

"I can't see anything," Kneemon's voice said. There was the sound of water splashing and the thud of hitting the ground.

"We all are unable to see. Just sit down, and we'll figure everything out." Bokomon's voice said.

{This is as far as I can take you. Good luck.} Cavalrymon said as it slowly started to disappear back into the water. It's white eyes shined against the darkness.

"W-wait!" Kouichi yelled. He looked around and tried to make out even the smallest speck of light. "How're we supposed to know where we're going?"

{Figure out what you have been told.} Cavalrymon disappeared completely into the water once it closed its eyes. {I'm unable to do everything for you.}

Kouichi heard the water grow still. He sat on the cold stone and looked around. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah," the majority of the group responded.

"We have to get moving," Kouichi said as he cautiously stood to his feet. He held out his hands and stepped forward searching for the wall. {This is impossible. There's no way we can find our way around quickly.}

"You hold the spirit of Darkness and can not find your way through the darkness?" the battered Digimon's voice spoke.

Kouichi's hand finally felt the stone wall. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his D-tector. {I should be able to find my way.}

"Hey, I can see something over here!" Tommy's voice rang. "Just come towards my voice, and you'll be able to see it, too."

The sound of the others making their way over to Tommy filled the empty cave. Smiles appeared on their faces at the sight of the speck of light.

* * *

Zoe pulled her knees close to her chest. She stared at the water and let out a small sigh. "It's not easy waiting alone. I hope they're okay and they manage to learn some things. We need to get Koji back. There's no telling what those Digimon are doing to him."

"You could always ask."

Zoe's body grew stiff and her grip on the leaf umbrella tightened. She slowly looked in the direction the voice came from and spotted Nightmaramon walking out from the trees. Her eyes quickly looked down at Takuya. {I can't run away. I have to protect Takuya.}

"So, is there anything that you want to say, Digidestined?"

Zoe stood to her feet and dropped the leaf umbrella to the side. She pulled out her D-tector and yelled, "Beast Spirit Evolution!"

**END**

I thought I should end the chapter there. I wanted to finish it sooner, but I just couldn't concentrate on it. I made sure to get it out for the holidays. Sorry it's so short, but I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review, and thank you to those who have done so. Happy Holidays, everyone! Merry Christmas!!

--Noi


	11. Chapter 11

I didn't plan on this chapter taking so long. I planned for it coming out on New Years, and it looked like that was going to happen until I went to an anime convention over New Year's weekend. When I got back, I didn't really know where I was at and kept putting it off since the new semester of school was starting. Then I got a boyfriend and yeah, yeah… I finally have some free time, so I finished it for you guys. I wanted to put it up yesterday, but it wouldn't upload. I'm sorry it took so long. u.u

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I just own all of my original Digimon.

Chapter 11

Zoe stood next to Takuya as Zephyrmon. Her light blue eyes looked at Nightmaramon through her hair. She took a couple of steps away from Takuya. Her eyes wandered to the water and then quickly looked back at the enemy Digimon.

"I wouldn't think they would be back so soon," Nightmaramon smirked. He held his arm up to the side. Black light formed from his hands, and his spear was eventually formed. "I have you all to myself."

{Kouichi and Koji were no match for him and that white armored Digimon. We all couldn't even defeat the red Digimon that injured Takuya.}

"Are you too frightened to move? Have you declared me the winner of this fight?" Nightmaramon tightened his grip on his spear and took a step forward.

{I can't run away. I have to wait for the others to return with help for Takuya. I can't be defeated so easily!} Zephyrmon's wings slowly began to open. "What makes you think that I'm an easy win for you?"

"I'll show you," Nightmaramon said as he immediately threw his spear at the other.

Zephyrmon flew into the air dodging the spear and held up her claws to her chest. She began to throw pink blades of energy. "Hurricane Gale!"

Nightmaramon blocked as many as he could with his arms and kept from making any sound of pain when some of the blades pierced through his armor. He gritted his teeth in anger.

"What do you have to say now?" Zephyrmon stared down at her opponent.

"Tear her to shreds," Nightmaramon muttered. He quickly motioned his hand up which caused his spear to shoot up into the air towards Zephyrmon.

Zephyrmon spotted the spear and swiped it away with her claws. "Hurricane Gale!"

The pink blades spun towards the spear and were deflected as it spun in defense. Zephyrmon continued to attack the spear and dodge it's attack by flying further away from Takuya over the lake.

Nightmaramon walked over to the side of the water. He raised his left hand towards Zephyrmon and yelled, "Nightmare Scream!"

A mouth opened up in the palm of his hand and a high pitched scream came out from within it. Along with the noise, he shot out some of the black beams from his other hand. The noise and the beams headed straight for Zephyrmon.

Zephyrmon smacked the spear to the side and started spinning to try and block the attacks that were headed her way. The high pitched noise immediately overtook her senses as the black beams were deflected by her spinning. She slowly stopped spinning and covered her ears trying to shake off the noise. {So loud. I can't--}

Her eyes grew wide as the spear went straight through her right wing. The sound did not seem to bother her anymore. She looked to her injured wing and began spinning as she fell uncontrollably towards the water. Pain filled her face once she hit the water. The blood started to stain the water around her as she sank deeper into the lake.

Nightmaramon held up his right hand and snatched his spear spinning it to a stop. He looked at the water and slowly formed a smile. "You have to come back up sometime."

* * *

"Light! Light!" the young Digimon cheered. Patamon flew towards it as the other two ran at it.

"Patamon, please don't run off," Bokomon said. He quickly walked after the young ones.

Kouichi stared at the light and walked over to it. It ended up being a lamp which emitted a blue flame. He looked beyond the lamp and noticed that the cave broke into three different paths. "'There are many ways to go.'"

"'Don't get lost.'" Tommy looked at the different paths to take.

"'Sentrymon will lead the way.'" J.P. added walking into the light. His clothes were no longer completely covered in mud after swimming through the water.

"Just great." Kouichi bent his knees and put his hands on his head. "Which way are we supposed to go?"

"Which path are you willing to take?" the battered Digimon asked. He walked up to the blue light and stared down at Kouichi with his good eye.

Kouichi looked up at the human type Digimon. He slowly stood back up and answered, "Whichever path you will lead us to get there…Sentrymon."

A small laugh came from the battered Digimon. He reached out and grabbed the lamp pulling it from the rock wall. He walked passed the group and headed down the middle path. He stopped after a moment and looked back. "It'd be best not to stray too far behind."

"Let's go," Kouichi said as he motioned with his hands for everyone to follow. He made sure everyone was ahead of him before he followed after the blue light.

* * *

Zephyrmon looked up towards the bit of sunlight that reflected off the top of the water. She was still sinking further into the lake. Her eyes looked over to her bleeding wing. She gently touched it and cringed with pain. {I was careless.

{I need to go back up for air. I can't leave Takuya up there by himself.}

She straightened her body in the water and began swimming to the surface. Once her head got out of the water, she gasped for air. Her eyes scanned the area for Nightmaramon and were unable to spot him. "Where did he go?"

"I haven't gone very far. I was just waiting for you to come back up." Nightmaramon stared down at Zephyrmon. He spun around one of the feathers that had stuck to his spear between two of his fingers. "Can you fly with only one wing?"

Zephyrmon narrowed her eyes at the other who seemed to float just above the water a few feet from her. She stretched out her good wing and slowly tried to open up her bad wing stopping when the pain became too much.

"Do you need help getting out?" Nightmaramon asked. He thrust his spear forward stopping just in front of Zephyrmon's face and smiled. "Go on. Take it."

Zephyrmon took a deep breath and forced herself back into the water. She tried to swim quickly to shore. {I have to get out of here. I have to take Takuya to safety.}

She heard something splash into the water and looked back to see Nightmaramon swim up beside her. He swung his spear towards her and forced her back to the surface. She opened up both of her wings regardless of the pain and tried to fly using the wind to aid her. Just before she made it to the shore her strength gave out and she slammed against the mud and rolled to a stop.

Nightmaramon climbed out of the water and stood next to Zephyrmon. He held his spear next to her neck.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping Lucemon?" Zephyrmon asked. Her eyes stared up at the other.

"Why? You're the last person I want to hear those words from, Zephyrmon--Digidestined!" Nightmaramon raised his spear into the air and stabbed it down tearing through Zephyrmon's good wing.

"Ah!" Zephyrmon screamed. She grabbed the spear and tried pulling it out. Blood was streaming from the wound. "Hurricane Gale!"

The pink blades cut into Nightmaramon's arm but he refused to move. Nightmaramon gritted his teeth together and twisted his spear in her wing.

Zephyrmon began screaming once more and struggled to pull the spear out. "Stop it! Stop this, please!"

"AHH!!" Akira charged at Nightmaramon and slammed his entire body into the dark armored Digimon. He managed to separate Nightmaramon away from his spear. "Leave her alone!"

Nightmaramon lost his balance and slammed his fists into the boy when he hit the ground. "What do you think you're doing getting in my way!?"

"Don't kill her! Don't kill them!" Akira yelled. He continued to hold on to Nightmaramon trying to weigh him down. His body shook with pain from each punch his back received.

Zephyrmon tried pulling the spear out of her wing and noticed black beams fighting against her. She tore at the beams and forced the spear out throwing it to the side. She slowly sat up and struggled to endure the pain from both of her wings. Her eyes looked at Nightmaramon and the boy. {Who is that?}

"Get off of me!" Nightmaramon roared. He snatched Akira's hair and tugged back on it. "They deserve to die after everything they've done to us!"

Akira let go of Nightmaramon and was instantly thrown to the side. His body shook with pain. He struggled to get up. He looked over to Zephyrmon. "Get away while you still can!"

Zephyrmon got to her feet and was about to flee when she looked back at the boy. {He's human just like us. What is he doing here?}

Nightmaramon held up his hand and grabbed his spear which quickly reunited with him. He got to his feet and raised it up into the air. "I don't care if I kill you!"

Akira's eyes grew wide as he struggled to crawl away. He threw his arms in front of him just as the other's spear came down on him. He put his arms down once he realized that he was not struck with the spear. "I told you to run!"

Zephyrmon stood there with her arms blocking the spear. The spear slowly began to cut away at the metal guard she had on her arms. "Who are you? Why are you in the Digital World?"

Akira was about to answer when a high-pitched noise overtook his senses. He covered his ears but that did not end the noise. He slammed his head against the mud and cried, "Stop it! Stop it! Make it stop!"

Zephyrmon looked back at the boy to see what was wrong and left herself open to be kicked in the stomach by Nightmaramon. She slammed against the ground and was immediately paralyzed with the pain from her wings.

"Now, where was I?" Nightmaramon spun around his spear. He took a step closer to Akira and raised up his weapon.

"AHH!!"

"No, don't!!" Zephyrmon cried. She watched as the spear came down on the boy and closed her eyes before the weapon struck the boy. The boy's screaming ended, and she was hesitant to look at the damage that was made.

"Don't worry, Wind Spirit. There's no way I'd allow him to destroy this body."

Zephyrmon opened her eyes and stared at the new, green armored Digimon that walked over to her and looked down at her. Her eyes looked over to where the boy laid and saw Nightmaramon's spear stabbed into the mud. "What did you do with the boy?"

"I thought I just told you. I would never allow Nightmaramon to destroy this body after Lord Lucemon captured it for my use. Do I need to explain in simpler words?" Reapmon smiled showing the sharp teeth within his mouth. His goggled-covered eyes looked over at Takuya. "Which one is that one?"

Nightmaramon pulled his spear from the mud and looked over at Takuya. "I don't know, but judging by his wound and the bit of data remnants left behind, I can guess that Bravermon fought him."

Reapmon laughed and knelt down beside Zephyrmon. "Why don't you tell me which spirit claims him, Wind Spirit?"

Zephyrmon's eyes narrowed as she took a quick look at Takuya. {Why does he want to know?}

"Answer my question!" Reapmon yelled growing impatient from the silence. He grabbed Zephyrmon by the neck and struggled to keep himself from digging his sharp claws into her neck.

"No."

Before another word could be said, Reapmon flung Zephyrmon into the air and struck his clawed hand up just as she came down on it. He instantly started laughing showing off his sharp teeth just as Zephyrmon started screaming in pain. He flung her body to the side admiring the deep gash he had managed to create on her lower back. "Now, just stay there. Since you won't bother answering my question, I'll just ask the thing myself."

"T-Takuya," Zephyrmon struggled to say before she passed out and transformed back into Zoe.

* * *

The battered Digimon stopped walking and hesitated for a moment.

"What's wrong, Sentrymon?" Kouichi asked trying to look around and seeing if it may have been something that blocked their path.

"Nothing." The battered Digimon continued to walk. "Nothing that Calverymon cannot handle on his own."

"What do you mean? Is Zoe in danger?" J.P. asked. He stopped walking.

Sentrymon looked back at J.P. His good eye was closed while his bad eye stared directly at the young boy. "There is nothing you can do at this moment to save your friends from being attacked by two armored Digimon unless you no longer wish to see Eldermon."

{Two armored Digimon? The ones that took Koji?} Kouichi slowly clenched his hands into fists. "We can't just leave them knowing their situation now."

"But if we don't see Eldermon, Takuya might--" Tommy started to say.

"And if we don't save them now, those Digimon will kill them! Just look what one did to Takuya. Zoe is fighting all alone out there!" J.P. argued. He began taking steps back the way the group had come.

"So, you would waste a visit with me just to save your friends?"

"Of course, we don't even know if that Digimon can…" J.P. stopped talking at the sight of a new Digimon that stood next to Sentrymon.

The rest of the group slowly noticed the older looking Digimon. He was short compared to the battered Digimon and looked at the kids from behind his glasses. He had long thick, white hair that seemed to occasionally move at the end as if it were a tail. Thick eyebrows covered his eyes and a long beard and mustache hid his mouth. His left hand held on to a staff almost twice his height.

Sentrymon placed the lamp he carried on top of the staff and looked down at the older Digimon.

"Well, well, it's about time I've laid my eyes on the Digidestined. I've only known of everything that you have done so far. Now, the big question is: Will you speak with me or will you go back and help your friends?" The old Digimon let out a short, weird laugh.

**END**

I will try to work on the next chapter right away. Yell at me in reviews or in messages telling me to work on it. I won't mind because I might've forgotten about it.

~Noi


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